No Matter Our Circumstances, Let Jesus Lead!
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (4) Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (5) If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (6) But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.’ (James 1:2-6)
James, the ‘half’ brother of Jesus, is the author of the Epistle or Letter of James. He wrote this not to be ‘Christianity 101’ but to be ‘Christianity 201’, something that would resonate with those who were firm in Faith and were growing beyond the basic teachings of the Gospel. It is considered by some scholars to be the most Jewish-leaning of all the New Testament letters; it emphasizes acting in Faith in Christ (‘how to live & be fruitful’) than the other books that emphasize receiving Faith in Christ. James assumesthe reader already had Faith and now needs to know how to become a more complete Christian.
The first chapter focuses on the realization that being a Christian does not remove the issues, or the trials and tribulations, that all people face every day. We face circumstances that are troubling and can produce fear, and fear can take someone off the path that Jesus has placed us on when we accepted Him. The early church faced persecution, ridicule, and shunning by others in their social circles or communities. Like us, they also faced dilemmas in finance, jobs, family, health and other circumstances that often bring doubt (‘Why would God place this in my life when I’m so Faithful?’)
However, James tells us these trials we face are common, they will happen to everyone – especially Christians. Our trials should not cause our Faith to fail but instead should strengthen it; trials should be used to depend on Christ even more, to bolster our Faith as He leads us away and out of our troubles. This builds our patience and our abilities to withstand the trials we face; we need to be content and joyful in where Jesus has us (though we may not be happy) regardless of our circumstances.
Once we are out of one trial, our perseverance strengthens so the next trial we face we should already know the strength we gain in having Jesus with us. Each trial should make us more mature in our Faith, and more understanding how Jesus works. If we find we miss something we should have learned, James tells us to pray, and to ask the Lord for what we need. We may not know what is happening to us, but we do know God knows what’s happening, and we can ask Him for wisdom and insight to get through our troubles. We are not to doubt Jesus, but believe He will lead us and make us better than before, stronger and more able in Faith to face our next storm.
The picture James portrays is going through a storm on a sea; one portrayal is being on a boat, where while the storm rages the boat may toss you about but you stay out of the water and Jesus propels and steers the boat out of the storm. The other portrayal is outside the boat, where you are not protected, and the storm takes you wherever it wants to, perhaps even drowning you, until it is over. It is not that we will avoid storms, but how we will ride out the storms that will come. It is far better to have Jesus lead us out than to be pushed around without Him!
