Pastor’s Pen Pulpit                                                                                                                                                          

November 13, 2005                                                                                                                                                          

 

HANDLING OUR DIFFICULTIES IN A BIBLICAL WAY

James 1:2-8

 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the LORD; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.  (NIV)

 

It is true that as a believer in Jesus Christ we all have difficulties in life.  It comes with the turf.  Jesus told His disciples in John 15:18  “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”  In our pen pulpit last week we learned that Peter said  believers are not to think some strange thing has happened to you when you are going through trials.  Trials are appointed to us for our growth in the faith.  In James chapter one, the Holy Spirit outlines several ways to help us handle our difficulties.  First of all we are to:

 

ACCEPT THE FACT OF TRIALS – v.2  Often we have to force ourself to do this.  It doesn’t come easy.  The text says “when” not “if”.  Trials are not an elective in God’s school of spiritual growth.  They are a required subject –cf John 16:33.  It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been in the faith, God tests all of His Children.

         

However He doesn’t test us all in the same way nor at the same time.   Question: How are we to consider trials to be a source of joy?  Answer: Only as we are able to see beyond their intensity to see their intent - cf Hebrews 12:2.   Accepting the fact of trials is the first step in learning to handle our difficulties in a Biblical way.

 

UNDERSTAND THE WORK OF TRIALS - vs 3,4

 

With regards to your faith v.3 -  Scripture knows nothing of fair weather walkers.  Can we honestly claim that we are walking by faith only when the sun is shining and we can always see where we are going?  Can we claim to be faith walkers when the unpleasant elements of the storms of life are not touching us?  This is sight walking.  Faith is like flying a plane by instruments.  The instruments must be accurate!  They are the only thing that can get you through the clouds.  The word of God is the believers instrument. Believing the Word does not dispell the clouds but gives you direction through the clouds.

 

With regards to your life vs 3b, 4 - What is the testing of your faith designed to accomplish?  There is a developing process  that occurs when our faith is tested.  The first step in the process is to:

 

•   Develop Stability (vs 3,4)  The testing of the believer’s faith produces a steadfastness along the treacherous road of life.  Like football shoes it gives us traction so that we don’t slip (v.3).  However, this is not an end within itself:  patience, steadfastness and endurance also have a work, an all encompassing work, the completion of the process.  And the second:

 

•   To mature our character and to give us a well rounded life (cf Romans 8:28,29).  “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”  Knowledge must be placed into perspective in a practical way:  we are to know certain things and their purpose.  Our character needs maturing.  That fact will always be true at any stage of our life here on the earth.  In this life we never max out on maturity.  There is never a time that we don’t need the work of the Holy Spirit in our life.  An individual can go through a lot when he knows the purpose of the trial.  Thus the work of trials is to mature our character and to give us a well rounded life.

 

This is quite an order, is it not?  Who is sufficient for such an experience?  If we are honest in our evaluation, we are probably saying to our self, “Self - I need wisdom other than my own to enable this knowledge to jell and bear fruit”.  If this is all true, and it is, then you’ve realized a need to look at life from God’s point of view.  This leads us into an element of prayer which we will examine in our next pen pulpit.  Until then, God bless and remember “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ( I Thess 5:18 NIV)