Deal With It – Part 2
1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2. My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations.
3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5. If any of you lack wisdom, let them ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and does not reproach; and it shall be given.
James 1:1-5
Trust Preparation
If someone asked the question, do you trust God, most would answer affirmatively, “Yes I trust God.” Yet, when we fall into various tests and temptations, trust becomes questionable. There is a story told about a man that was famous for his ability to walk a tight rope. He would walk across vast canyons, over ravines, and between buildings, and the crowds were thrilled at his ability. On one occasion, the famous tight rope walker asked a man in the crowd if he believed he could walk the rope from one building to the next with two hundred pounds of weight in a wheel barrel. The man responded with a resounding “yes.” The tight rope walker asked if he believed that he could walk the rope from one building to the next with a man in the wheel barrel. The man responded again with a “yes.” Then the tight rope walker asked the man to get into the wheel barrel. At that point, the man hesitated. While he had faith, he lacked in trust.
There are many believers who trust God on good days but have difficulty trusting God on the dark days. If the truth be told, when we face a temptation we all ask God immediately, “Lord, why are you testing me?” “What did I do?” We would be surprised to learn that Jesus was put to the test immediately after He was baptized by John in the Jordan River. You would think that the Father would be eager to have Jesus to be about His mission. Yet, the Scripture states, He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted of the Devil. As we read of the outcome, we discover that Jesus defeated the devil at every point, but there is one summary that many of us miss at first glance. Jesus returned (from the wilderness) in the power of the Spirit. Rather than being weakened by the test, Jesus gained greater power through the test. See Luke 4:14. So rather than seeing the test as a necessary evil, the test gives us an opportunity to deal with situations and conflicts by the Power of God’s Spirit. Since we are the Body of Christ, we have access to the same Power that Jesus possessed. The same Power that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in the life of each believer. (Romans 8:11). It is that Power that helps us deal with every situation, temptation, and struggle – God’s way.
The issue is at the moment the problem hits, we must be prepared to trust God. It is only through focusing on God’s Joy that this is possible. Please remember, that we do not produce the Joy; Joy comes as the fruit of the Holy Spirit is produced in the life of every believer. The Apostle James gives us inspirational words and also challenging words to face the onslaught of troubles. Count it all joy when you fall into various temptations … Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. While the impact of the trouble is immediate, the outpouring of God’s Power is also immediate. It is up to us whether we will face it God’s way or face it in defeat. Jesus chose to face His temptation with the Power of the Holy Spirit, and He returned in the Power of the Spirit.
We deal with it by counting every struggle as pure joy because we know that what is coming next is not the hardship but Divine help. We deal with it because we trust God and know that He is working everything out for our good. We deal with it because we trust God and know that if faith is tested, it will pass the test. But we must be aware that the outcome is not up to us, but up to God – so deal with it.
What’s Blocking the Joy?
As you recall, we talked about the barriers that prevent the believer from dealing with troubles effectively. That list includes the factors of fear and anxiety, compromise, and tradition. Well, there is one other issue that we need to pay attention to and that is the spirit of pride. While we may not all go through exactly the same test, the devil will use his main weapon of pride to entice even the most devoted believer. Most of us would say, I don’t have pride. Yet, if we question God when trouble strikes, I don’t know what else to call it except pride. Pride says, “I’m too good to be tested.” Pride says, “that should be someone else going through this.” Pride compares the struggles we face with those of others around us and concludes, “why can’t other people have some of these burdens and cares.” Harry Emerson Fosdick concluded; a person wrapped up in self makes a very small package. The preacher Harry Ironside said, pride is a barrier to all spiritual progress.
In his book, Facing the Giants in Your Life, Dr. David Jeremiah said that one of his professors at Dallas Seminary carried a notebook in his pocket that included all the names of students and ministers that had fallen into sexual temptation. One day he was looking over the list of all those poor souls and noted they had one thing in common. They all had the spirit of pride and arrogance. Thankfully, the trials in life prove to us that first we need God to help us. Second, it proves that we are not as good as we think we are. We are not as strong as we claim to be. Third, when the trials assail us, God will provide just what we need to pass the test. God sends joy to deal with it.
Joy is not laughter or viewing life as something funny. Joy is much deeper. In the Greek, the word meant to be cheerful or to be filled with gladness not over something but from Someone. In the Hebrew, the word joy often meant blessed or to be happy. The goal in life is not to have everything we want but rather to become what God has created us to be. As difficult as this may seem, it is only the test or trial that can prove that you are who God says you are. You might say, it takes the test to prove our spiritual identity. Of course, God already knows who we are. So often the world cannot really identify us until we are literally thrown into a crisis.
Daniel is an Old Testament character who is a classic example of how to face a crisis with joy. Daniel was blessed like that. Let me remind you, there is not much of a challenge to believe and trust God when life is going your way. Well, you might say that life was finally going Daniel’s way. He had survived the massacre of his fellow Jews and was now a captive in a foreign land. But rather than mourning his losses, Daniel counted his blessings and dealt with it. His attitude landed him a position in the king’s palace where he was a counselor to the King. At this point others started noticing his faith, his character, and his success. His co-workers in the king’s counseling group were jealous, but king Darius saw a man with amazing abilities. According to Daniel 6:3, the king planned on promoting Daniel to Chief of Operations for the entire kingdom of Media and Persia. Prior to the promotion, the co-workers conspired against Daniel and had the king sign a decree that if any one worshipped, called, prayed, or petitioned any other god or man for thirty days, they would die by execution to the lion’s den. How did Daniel respond? He counted it all joy and kept calling out to God as he had done in the past. The king recognized that he had been tricked into signing a decree that targeted Daniel, so he made every attempt to spare his life. But according to the law of the land, the sentence had to be carried out. So, how did Daniel deal with it. He kept praying to his God. They threw Daniel into the den of lions, but a strange thing happened. When Daniel went into the lions’ den, an angel accompanied him so that no harm was done to Daniel because of his innocence. What is noteworthy is that the text does not indicate Daniel getting frustrated, fearful, or anxious about the situation. Daniel had joy or in other words, he was blessed. Even after being taken up out of the lions’ den, Daniel never said anything about “it being a setup.” He did not allow spiritual pride to spoil the miracle of God’s deliverance. I know you’re wondering what happened to those jealous co-workers. Well, the king concluded that he could not trust them to be leaders in his kingdom if they came up with such plots. Hence, they were thrown into the lions’ den along with their families.
The Other Side of the Struggle
So how do we develop that joyous attitude while at the same time maintaining humility? The text tells us that Joy is the start of a process. This is the trust process that God uses to refine our faith and build our character. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience … But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. The key word is ‘works patience.’ I know that sounds like the last thing you would want to do in a crisis is to be patient but hold on and patience will show you what to deal with, how to deal with, and to triumph as a result of dealing with it.
Here is the point of dealing with it; we are victors and not victims. God, through His Power, has made us champions and no one can claim the championship without facing an opponent. The Christian cannot just say they are overcomers, they must demonstrate it with the power to overcome. That is how we deal with it.
James declared that the temptation is the construction site that will prove to the world that God is working in us. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience … But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Patience works perfectly to conform us into the image of Jesus. When we are anxious, patience whispers to us, “God has this under control.” When problems come to test our identity, patience reminds us that we belong to God. No weapon formed against us will prosper and every tongue that rises against us, God will condemn. We were God’s people before the problem started, we are God’s people while the problem continues, and we will be God’s people when the problem is over. The key is dealing with it as God’s people.
Some say that takes faith. Actually, it just takes patience. You would be surprised how quickly answers come when we slow down and deal with it. At some point in your walk with God, the Lord wants us to experience more than the possible; He longs to show us how the impossible can be achieved. The devil has threatened the Church to stay in their corner, but how can we seek a comfortable corner when the world is a mess. Let us put on the Armor of Light and deal with it.
I close by focusing on the life of Marian Anderson; a devoted woman of faith who could sing so beautifully. God gave her that ability and she wanted to sing her praises for God. Even though she was known worldwide, the hatred and racism that was so typical of the Jim Crow era, kept her from singing in some American concert halls. Marian was asked to sing in Washington D.C. by the NAACP but could not find a suitable venue at any of the Black owned sites. She had requested to hold the concert at Constitution Hall but was denied because of her race. Marian Anderson dealt with it. It was God’s will for her to sing but it was on the other side of the struggle. As it turned out, Constitution Hall could not hold the crowd of over seventy five thousand. Marian Anderson performed the first ever concert at the Lincoln Monument on April 9, 1939, before a fully integrated crowd. That was what God planned to happen, but Marian had to deal with it – God’s Way. When we give the problem to God, count it all joy, we will then experience the perfect work of patience. That is how to deal with it. That is the foundation for the trust process.