“Count it all Joy…” James 1:2
Hi friend and welcome back to the blog. First of all, let me apologize for any confusion from last week’s blog post. I received few personal messages from readers who were confused about the title and finding the post. Please bear with me as I hope to find a better way to re-share old posts.
Today’s post is the first in a series I’ve titled “Lessons from James”
Over the next few weeks I pray that we can be encouraged and inspired from the wisdom of this book.
To begin, the book of James is believed to be self titled and the author is believed to be none other than James - the half brother of Jesus.
From research, it is also believed that James wasn’t a personal follower of Jesus during His earthly time; but eventually became an apostle.
However, reading this book, there’s no doubt the life of Christ was an influence on James. So with that introduction let’s get into our first lesson from this book.
James 1: 2-4 states “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.“ ESV
After his greetings in vs 1, James gets right to his first lesson which is to ‘Count it all joy’. Please pause and re-read the last 4 words of the sentence again.
Think about an experience or someone or something that has brought you joy. Now contrast that with something really hard that you’ve experienced.
Can joy and trials co-exist at the same time in your life?
James definitely believes so, which is why his first lesson delivers this important message.
What’s going on in your life right now?
Whatever it is, James is teaching us brothers and sisters in the faith to count it all joy. And while he could’ve stopped there he goes on to explain why this is so important. The reason is because whenever we go through trials of various kinds, this testing of our faith produces steadfastness.
A few weeks ago, I discussed the word steadfast and if you’d like to also read that post please see here.
Steadfastness is not easily attainable. It requires daily discipline (at least for me). It is often borne through hardships and difficulties. However after it has taken full effect in a person’s life, there is perfection.
Perfection is this life is a rarity; but God wants us to strive for it according to Matthew 5:48. So as Christians we do that by first adjusting our attitudes when life doesn’t go as planned or expect and our faith is tested.
So as I conclude our first lesson let me be the first to say that I’m still a work in progress. While the book of James has been inspiring me a lot recently; I’m not perfect. However, my desire is to continue to be steadfast daily so that at the end (whether in this life or next); I will be perfect lacking nothing. I hope and pray the same for you.
Let’s pray…
Dear God thank you for your word and the inspiration from it. It’s amazing that even though it was written thousands of years ago, it is still applicable to us. As we go through this series may it inspire our faith journey and may we live lives that are closer to perfection each day. In Jesus name, Amen.
References
The Bible
Insight for living
Image Credit
Wix
Comentarios