Count It All Joy

Recently, Hurricane Hilary traveled through the Baja Peninsula and continued on to Southern California and even to Vegas. As we have friends throughout the regions Hilary was expected to impact, I followed the news for several days. I received an email from a mission organization we support in the Baja region of Mexico. They prepared for Hilary as best they could, but their buildings are old. Although, the rain and wind were not as severe as predicted, they still exposed leaks in the roof and extensive damage by termites. God provided for the cost of the repairs for which the mission organization was grateful, but they were also grateful that Hurricane Hilary exposed unseen problems before the rainy season came. If it were not for Hilary, no one would have known the repairs were needed, and the rainy season could have caused considerably more damage than Hilary did. The mission organization’s buildings are better because of the storm.

I wrote on James 1:2-4 a few years ago (Tears and Joy), but this year our women’s Bible study is going through the book of James. I decided as I am studying through James this time, I would write a series, eventually journeying through the whole book of James. Thus, I decided to cover the first few verses again but hopefully with some additional details.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. [1]

James 1:1-4

I’ve read through pages and pages on the background of James including different arguments for or against in the following areas – the author, the audience, when it was written, why it was written, etc. I’ll try to give a briefer summary here. James was Jesus’ half-brother. From John 7:5, we know that James was not a believer during Jesus’ ministry, but at some point, likely after Jesus’ resurrection, James came to saving faith. This is evident in James’ greeting in verse 1 as he describes himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (or Messiah). He also became the leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15). He was known as “James the Just” for his reputation of devotion to prayer and righteousness. James was martyred in AD 62.

Due to the lack of any mention of the Counsel of Jerusalem (AD 49), the book of James is believed to be written between AD 44-48 making it the earliest New Testament writing.

James wrote “To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” There are differing opinions on this, but I will share who I believe this description references. “Twelve tribes” was used to refer to the literal twelve tribes of Israel. Since the Assyrians took the Northern kingdom of Israel captive and the Babylonians took the Southern kingdom of Judah captive, Israel’s twelve tribes have been dispersed although here, it is probably even more specific to the scattering of Jewish Christians due to persecution of the early church. The word for dispersed means scattered and has also been used to reference Christians in general who were scattered due to early church persecution. However, I believe that James was writing to Jewish Christians. James was Jewish. He was a leader of the Jerusalem church comprised of primarily Jewish people. I read that James used forty plus allusions to the Old Testament and twenty plus allusions to the Sermon on the Mount.

That said, I also believe that the book of James has universal themes for all Christians. As James wrote to Jewish Christians not long after Jesus death and resurrection, he did not emphasize the Gospel the way Paul did, but focused on practical, holy living in accordance with the Gospel they already believed. James issued over fifty imperatives in five chapters.

James finished his greeting and jumped right to a command: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (vs 2). Peanut butter and jelly go together. Chips and salsa go together. Snowy days and cozy fires go together. Joy and trials do not go together, at least not from a worldly perspective. One of my doctors told me that most of her cancer patients are despondent, hopeless, and even angry. They are not joyful and hopeful. So, how is it James can command believers to “count it all joy” when they meet trials?

Let’s breakdown some of the words and then put it all together.

Count – esteem, consider, or think of. Count directs us how we are to think about trials. It is a choice we make.

All joy – all is best understood as the quality of the joy, so another way to understand all joy would be as supreme joy or rejoice exceedingly.

If we are to count our trials as all joy, then ultimately, we are viewing our trials Biblically. We are looking at our trials through the lens of God’s sovereignty, goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, and His other attributes. We perceive our trials in light of God’s promises.

Trials – can refer to temptations, but it is generally understood in this context as common, difficult circumstances or persecution. James’ audience would have experienced both. As Jews, they were disliked by Gentiles. As Jewish Christians, they were disliked by other Jews. They were scattered, and from verse 9, it has been inferred that they were poor.

Testing – or proving. Trials prove or reveal what our true nature is just like Hurricane Hilary revealed the true condition of the mission organization’s roofs and buildings.

Faith – our faith is what is being tested or proven. Is our faith genuine? The first time I was told I had cancer, I spent a day feeling sorry for myself, questioning why me, and wondering what would happen to my husband because I assumed I would die. I was asking the wrong questions. My faith was being tested, and in those initial hours, it was not genuine. With my words, I would have told you that God was sovereign and good, but I was not functioning as if those things were true. I just wanted the diagnosis to be wrong and for life to go on as normal. I’m so thankful God had a much better purpose for me.

The testing of our faith in trials brings to the surface who or what we really trust. When we know that our trials are by God’s design for His good purpose of conforming us to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), we can count it all joy. We aren’t meant to rejoice at trials themselves or pretend the trials don’t bring suffering. We do rejoice in what God is working in the trials – the enlarging of our faith.

Steadfastness – is to remain under. It is endurance and a patient perseverance. When our faith is proven in trials, the result is steadfastness. In many of David’s psalms, his grim circumstances didn’t change, but David was still able to praise God. His faith was genuine. He remained steadfast. Paul and Silas did the same as they sat in jail. Faith fixes it gaze on God and His character which are unchanging (immutable). God’s immutability provides our foundation for steadfastness.

James gives another command. “And let steadfastness have its full effect…” (vs 4). Even though David often petitioned God to deliver him, his fundamental goal was knowing and glorifying God. When God opened the prison doors for Paul, Paul didn’t rush to escape and catch the next donkey out of town. He remained where he was trusting God’s purposes.

Steadfastness isn’t about the short haul. Steadfastness is for God’s work in us to have its full effect (teleios, same Greek word used for perfect). Steadfastness’ full effect is to be:

· Perfect – brought to its end, finished, spiritual maturity.

· Complete – no part wanting, whole, free from sin.

· Lacking nothing – nothing more is needed or required.

Wow! Can you even imagine being perfect, complete, and lacking nothing? Can you imagine experiencing the full effect of spiritual maturity? Guess what? God promises that He is working this sanctification in you now and will complete it (not until glory but it’s coming! Philippians 1:6). Are you understanding how we can choose to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds? God’s purposes in our trials are good.

But wait, there’s more! “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life” (vs 12). Happy is the man who perseveres, endures, holds to his faith, stands the test because he is accepted. He is pleasing to God and is given eternal life. What a gift! Eternal life with our Savior.

James based this eternal hope on the Gospel. We will still have times we waver in trials. There will still be times our faith in trials is placed in something or someone other than God, but Jesus never wavered in trials even as He endured more suffering than we will ever know. He remained faithful even to a humiliating death on a cross, bearing the wrath of the Father, and being forsaken by the Father. He remained steadfast in our place so that we could be perfect, complete, and lacking nothing in Him. Then He rose on the third day that we too might rise to eternal life.

The next couple of weeks we will see how verses 5-11 tie into faith in our trials.

Reflection

1. What do you “count” when you meet trials of various kinds? What lens are you viewing your trial through?

2. In a past or current trial, how has your faith been proven not to be genuine? Be specific.

3. In a past or current trial, how have you seen the effects of genuine faith producing steadfastness that is resulting in your conformity to the image of Jesus?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jas 1:1–4.