James 1:1-4 – Count It All Joy

Jam 1:1
JAMES, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Jam 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Jam 1:3
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Jam 1:4
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Verse 1
This epistle was written specifically to Jews, but I believe it can be applied to our own lives as well (2 Timothy 3:16).

Verse 2
It’s so easy to say that we are suffering because God doesn’t care about us, or to accuse someone else of wrongdoing when we see them suffering.

Think of Job’s wife telling him to “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But what of Job’s response, “‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?’” In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).

Verse 3
Why should we rejoice in the midst of our trials? Because trials test our faith. When our faith is tried, we come out stronger and more trusting on the other side.

God tests us for a reason. We don’t have to understand the reason, because we’re not God. He won’t give us anything more than we can handle (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13). That’s great news. When we’re not in a trial!

The victory comes when you endure a trial, when the world feels like it’s going to end, and you have nowhere to turn. When that happens and you hold to your faith and stand strong, despite circumstances, you can thank God that He has started bringing you down the path of patience.

Verse 4
Why should we be more patient? Well, patience will lead us to being complete. Perfect. Lacking nothing. That’s be a good thing!