How to face trials

Following Christ does not eliminate hardships; in many ways, it compounds them.

James 1:2–3

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that testing your faith produces steadfastness.”

Persecution forced many of the earliest Jewish Christians to flee Jerusalem to other parts of the Roman Empire (Acts 8:1; 11:19). These scattered believers made up most of the original readers of James’ epistle, and they faced many challenges—life in a foreign place, harassment from non-Christian Jews, poverty, and more. As a faithful pastor, the Apostle James begins his letter by addressing the reality of suffering that his first audience faced, and in so doing, he provides guidance for us today.

First, we must understand that trials inevitably attend the Christian life. James says “when” we encounter trials, not “if” we face them (James 1:2). Following Christ does not eliminate hardships; in many ways, it compounds them. Once we become Christians, we must face not only the struggles that all people encounter—family turmoil, sickness, broken dreams, job loss—but also the additional burden of others hating us for following Jesus instead of the ways of the world. We may never suffer the particular trials of exile that James’ original readers did, but we will suffer the normal troubles that occur in a fallen world as well as the specific trials that are the consequence of faithful Christian living. Even apostles endured such things (see 2 Cor. 11:24–28).

James tells us to “count it all joy” as we face these various trials of life (James 1:2). The Apostle encourages us to view trials as joyful and to acknowledge the sorrow they bring. Rather, he encourages us to view our suffering with the right frame of mind, to consider our trials in a way that acknowledges God’s purposes while also being honest about the pain they cause. Counting it all joy means rejoicing in the chance to suffer while acknowledging the pain. Here joy does not serve as a synonym for happiness; it is an evaluation of the situation according to God’s truth that says that trials are for our ultimate good even though the challenges themselves are unpleasant.

Why should we count it all joy when we go through trials of various kinds? We should count it all joy because we "know that the testing of [our] faith produces steadfastness" (v. 3). James wants us to know that trials purify and refine our faith. As we continue trusting God’s promises during our suffering, we grow more confident in His faithfulness and are more able to believe that He can do what seems impossible to us. We grow more steadfast and less thrown into disarray by our trials.

Coram Deo Living before the face of God

As John Calvin notes, our creaturely nature means that we inevitably feel grief and sorrow when we endure evils. He continues that nevertheless, “this reality does not prevent the children of God from rising, by the guidance of the Spirit, above the sorrow of the flesh. Hence it is that in the midst of trouble they continue to rejoice. If we rely on our own power, we cannot find joy in the face of trials. We must ask the Spirit of God to help us.

Article from Tabletalk Magazine / Bible Study

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