Intro
In these few verses of Chapter 1 - James jumps right into what our perspective should be as a Christian facing trials on this earth.
Initially this instruction, which states to find "joy" in your trials may feel counterintuitive, but when accepted & given into it can really change our approach to everyday life as a follower of God.
Study
Followers Of God Will Naturally Change
Again, for many of us this bit of instruction from James on finding "joy" in our trials as a follower of God & His Son Jesus can feel counterintuitive. Our culture often tells us that if something isn't "fun", or if something is "too hard" then we need to move on for our own mental health, and well being.
However, here we're being taught that in the Christian walk "trials" should lead to our "Joy", because they are essentially helping make us better?
Well, if you have read the scriptures, and you have had any personal conversion into being a "Christ follower", or "believer" in the Bible & its text - then you probably already understand this journey will "change" you. Jesus explains as followers we'll be given the Spirit of Truth as a helper (John 14:15-17), and in places like Timothy we understand we'll have a Spirit that is of power, love, and self control (2 Timothy 1:7). In other words, as Christians we have share in the Spirit of God, which helps direct us into who we should be - meaning we'll of course experience some personal change.
We Will Face Some Cultural Pushback
Knowing that this world is often opposed to the teachings of God we can know we'll naturally experience trials & tribulations for simply "not falling into line" with general earthly & cultural expectations. Does that mean we're doing the "wrong" thing if we're facing pushback from this world? Of course not! Our goal is to grow closer to God before anything else, so to strive through a trial and to make it to the other side should only encourage us - creating a badge of honor that states "yes, we can finish this race we've started!"
Like mentioned above, the world "hated" Jesus, but why? If we believe the scripture we believe He did nothing but heal, feed, love, and give clear direction to those who would listen on how to make it to a life beyond this one. However, we learn that most of his persecution came from Jealousy - jealousy from other "religious leaders" who did not want to lose their position as the "elite" of the time.
Interestingly, Jesus's form of persecution is one we've seen playout in history, and will see time & time again. Being "Christlike" and a follower of the Bible isn't necessarily what's going to cause our persecution. Jealousy & fear of loss of control by those in love with the power of this world is what often causes our persecution. Just as Jesus experienced - the masses desired to hear him, and even follow Him. However, the leaders of the time turned those masses against him to make sure they preserved their power.
Biblical Perspective
Here are a few quick notes & bible verses to meditate on when thinking about this concept of finding "joy" in the trials:
Jesus explained that as the world hated him during his ministry, his disciples can expect the same (John 15:18-19)
We are not alone in being "persecuted" for our faith & beliefs. Those before us experienced the exact same thing (many giving up their lives simply for not bowing to other gods), so know others have done what we're trying to do! Also, know we are building ourselves up a reward in the life to come after this short time we have on this earth (Matthew 5:11-12)
Paul, a great follower of Jesus & teacher of the scripture explains how we should "rejoice" in our sufferings because of its production of endurance and overall character - a character of hope in Jesus supported through the gift of the Holy Spirit that's been shared with us (Romans 5:3-10)
Another scripture that really seems to fit this teaching is what Paul has to say in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. In these verses he puts our Christian walk, and all that we might face, into the perspective of athletics & training for a contest.
Why do we train? Why do fight to the finish during our runs, matches, etc.? There is something to complete & there is something to win. That is our perspective when it comes to trials as a follower of Jesus & our Father God's teachings.
Like running sprints to increase our speed to outrun our challengers - it may not be fun in the moment, but everytime we practice, we get better & stronger, so that we can win in the long run.
TAKEAWAY
As followers of God, and believers in Christ Jesus, our perspective on day to day life can't stay the same. Being a Bible follower may not always be easy, but there are reasons for everything, and everything can make a lot more sense when viewing the world through the lens of the scripture.
So, let's go out and show the world a positive attitude in the even the harshest treatment. Let's be like Christ who through his unjust persecution led to the greatest movement this world has ever seen. Just think - what if he hadn't handled His trials as he did? Right now you probably wouldn't be reading this, and it probably would have never been written.
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