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Joy and Pain

Thy Word Have I Paraded From My Mouth …

A long time ago when I was an Awana scholar (and athlete — I was no stranger to the glory of the Awana Olympics, thank you very much), I memorized the book of James. I remember sitting on the carpeted steps in the church basement, reciting chapters to my leader — not necessarily for the beauty of having God's Word hidden in my heart, but more for the glory of being the student who had memorized the most Scripture.

After I had received my prize for satisfactorily repeating James' words, I promptly forgot most of them. But as is often the case with our graceful God, He has taken my prideful motivation to memorize Scripture and turned it into a way of reminding me how He wants me to live and think.

Recently, words from the book of James have been coming to mind quite often, specifically the first few verses in James chapter one. I won't go into the only-interesting-to-me details of how this chapter kept coming up, but it finally dawned on me that these words may have some insight into how to think biblically about the situations in my life.

For some reason, The Message paraphrase stood out to me, so I taped it to my bathroom mirror. Here's what it says (no skimming please; let the words sink in):

I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello!

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:1-8)

This passage and I are not friends. We have absolutely nothing in common, and we argue a lot. When I read it, I was quite convinced that God was just kidding around when He inspired James to write these verses. Theologians tend to disagree with me though, so I resigned myself to the fact that I was to learn something from this passage. Fine. Be that way, James.

Please Pass Me Another Trial

When James wrote this letter, he was addressing Jewish Christians, many of whom were being persecuted for their faith and suffering great hardships.

The IVP New Testament Commentary says that James was encouraging them to serve Christ at all times — and in all situations. "Even in these 'trials of many kinds,' the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ is to continue living the life that James will describe. His burden in writing is this: 'Don't put off your life of faith until times get better. Right now, in the midst of your suffering, is the very time to be putting your servanthood toward Christ into practice.'"¹

Right off the bat, James offers the method with which they are to serve Christ in their sufferings: joy. Therein lies my first problem.

I have some difficulty considering tests and challenges a sheer gift. This is not just the kind of gift you have to pretend to enjoy (e.g. a cassette tape of the Gaither Vocal Band's greatest hits from your grandma), but it's a gift that you are extremely grateful for and excited about (e.g. a new Cadillac Escalade for graduation).

The NIV says to consider hardships "pure joy." Keep in mind that the people to whom James was writing were probably undergoing literal persecution. My tests and challenges usually consist of a car with a bad transmission and boys who are difficult to understand. Not quite the same, but they are my trials nonetheless — trials I do not have much joy about.

At least James informs us of why we are to be joyful about our circumstances. He says:

You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (vv. 3-4)

The troubles we face in life are there to make us mature, not lacking in anything. James promises his readers that there's a purpose for it all so "don't try to get out of anything prematurely." Those words are actually quite beautiful to me — in an ugly and painful sort of way. When I read them and began to examine the way I live my life, I realized that I try to get out of everything prematurely. I was doing it with a situation in my life at that very moment. I looked at perseverance with disdain; instant gratification sounded much better.

Here's an example of my prayer life to prove my point:

Dear God,

Thank You for everything; I am very blessed. Now, on to what I need.

Please help me out of this uncomfortable situation. It makes me sad, and being sad is not pleasant. It also makes me angry, and, well, when I'm angry, I am in danger of sinning — You wouldn't want that.

So, again, I really don't like being uncomfortable, so please fix this for me ASAP. You can choose to answer this prayer any way you like, but just do it soon. Please, please, please hurry! The faster the better — You know, because of all the aforementioned discomfort. Thanks!

Love,
Denise

Seriously. I am not sure that it ever crossed my mind to endure difficult situations with joy. But we are not to wait until everything is going our way to begin to serve God joyfully. Instead, if we desire to think biblically about our uncomfortable circumstances, it seems as though we should, if not celebrate, at least appreciate our struggles because of the spiritual maturity they will bring about.

Refiner's Fire, My Heart's Last Desire

I do not always understand the purpose of the maturity this joyful perseverance brings. Am I to be mature so that I'll be well-prepared for the next difficult circumstance that comes my way?

Sounds fun.

James does tell us that we are to ask God for wisdom in getting through these situations. God will provide it for us if we only believe that He will. All of this seems to be a refining process — a chance for the fruits of joy and patience to ripen within us.

Hebrews addresses this topic as well, painting a picture of our Father shaping us into who He wants us to be. It says that we should "[e]ndure hardship as discipline; God is treating [us] as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? … No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12: 7, 11, NIV).

Our hardships are to be seen as discipline from a loving father, from someone who "disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness" (v 10). That's when the passage becomes convicting. It's difficult to come up with a way to justifiably scorn righteousness.

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When I was reminded of the first chapter of James, I began to at least attempt to apply it to my life. I would read the words over and over, wondering what "pure joy" looked like. I am still not sure. But when assured that God's purpose is to make me more holy — more like Him — it becomes very difficult to blame God for my discomfort, and it becomes increasingly evident that persevering with joy is a big part of that process.