James 1:3,4

James 1:2-4 (ESV) "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."

Besides learning to choose joy or command or be in charge of our own joy in verse two, James gives us two other benefits of going through trials or temptations. In verse three he writes that the trials and testing we go through produce steadfastness, or as the KJV puts it, patience. The idea of the word here is “to bear up under, to endure, to be patient regarding things or circumstances”. The specific things or circumstances here being the testing and trying of our faith. It comes from a root word that means to stay under voluntarily, to remain under.

Another word that needs examining is the word “let” in verse 4. This word means to have and hold or to have continued possession of. This idea adds a new dimension to patience or steadfastness. As is choosing or commanding joy, James is telling us that for patience to be fully effective or to come to fruition in our life, we must have possession of that patience by voluntarily staying in the trial that is causing us so much pain, or sorrow or hardship.

It is so easy to try to seek a way out of the trials of life but we should carefully consider the consequences of escape. As a prison worker I have had many classes on how to be a hostage if that unpleasant situation were to ever occur. One of the things we are always taught is to carefully consider that consequences of trying to escape the hostage takers. If you fail will it bring more harm to you? If you succeed will the hostage takers become more aggressive to your fellow hostages who were left behind in your escape? If we, as Christians, try to escape the trials of life will we leave behind a hostage? The very thing God is trying to accomplish in your life may very well be left undone in your escape. God wants us to “let” patience work in our lives. Takes ownership of it and don’t try to escape. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Don’t be confused here by the word escape. The context tells us that Paul is not talking about escape out of a trial but escape by going through it and enduring it.

Lastly, in verse 4, James tells us that is we will stay in the trial; if we will bear up under the circumstances; if we will let patience work; if we will do these things we will grow to maturity in Christ, perfect and complete. He also states we will be lacking in nothing. This is obviously not a statement of having everything we want or think we want. It means we will gain everything from trial that God intended us to gain. We will lack nothing from the lesson of the trial.

If you are going through a very difficult time right now, I urge you to consider these words. Choose joy. Don’t try to rush out of the trial. Let patience work in you. Learn what God is trying to teach you. Become the mature Christian He wants you to be. I can assure you that even though doing these things may be hard it will pay off in the end. God bless you in your trial of life.