Practical Advice for Christian Suffering (James 1.1-12)

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness.

To the twelve tribes who earnestly worship day and night in the Dispersion among the Greeks:

Greetings to you Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Galatia, Bithynia, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, to those who have received a faith as equally honorable as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ; to those who are called, who are beloved, sanctified in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ.

Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. For you had cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you possess something better and more lasting. Discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is compassionate and merciful. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials.

You know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. By your endurance you will gain your soul. Like Paul, let us also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For you need endurance so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised. Indeed, we call those who showed endurance blessed. Being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire, let the genuineness of your faith be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. For this reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. I always strive in my prayers on your behalf that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given you. If you indeed cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the reverence of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. The Lord teaches us wisdom in the secret heart. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. Remember the words of our Lord, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” This is the boldness we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. The Lord told us, “If you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” But ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind, for the wicked are like the tossing sea that cannot keep still; its waters toss up mire and mud. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.

For that person must not suppose that he or she will receive anything from the Lord; they are double-minded, unstable in all their ways. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed.

Let the lowly boast in their exaltation. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Let the rich boast in their humiliation because like a flower of the grass they will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also, the rich will fade away amid their pursuits. Their riches flee like a shadow and do not last. Their days are like a lengthening shadow; they wither away like grass. For the moment they flourish like a flower of the field, but the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. The grass withers; the flower fades. Jeremiah prophesied, “Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom; do not let the mighty boast in their might; do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth.” For the present form of this world is passing away

Blessed are those who remain steadfast under trial, for when they have stood the test they will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. God tested Abraham and the Israelites. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son. The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the reverence of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Remember the long way that the Lord God led the Israelites those forty years in the wilderness, to humble them, testing them to know what was in their heart, whether they would keep His commandments. He gave them manna to eat in the wilderness, something their ancestors had never known, to humble and test the Israelites so that in the end it might go well with them. They were not to heed the words of those prophets or those who divine by dreams, for the Lord God tested them, to know whether they indeed love the Lord God with all their heart and soul. The Lord left nations to test Israel, that is, all those in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. Furthermore, no testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

As our Lord said, “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.” But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” Anyone who loves God is known by God. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. From now on there is reserved for you the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give on that day to all who have longed for His appearance. Remember if you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children of God: “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when you are punished by Him.” But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Be faithful until death, and Christ will give you the crown of life, for He is coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown.  In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.