Mar. 12, 2025

“ENCOUNTER WITH GOD”

“THE TRIALS OF LIFE”

JAMES 1:1-12

For us to turn trials into triumph, we must obey four essentials for victory in trials.

1.  A Joyful Attitude (Count)

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”

Jesus warned His disciples:

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Paul told his converts:

Acts 14:22 “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

Peter emphasized this in his first letter:

1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”

The word “various” or in some translations “divers” means varicolored. Peter uses this in 1 Peter:

1 Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

The key word is “count” vs.2, it is a financial term and it means to evaluate. Paul used it several times in Philippians 3.

Even our Lord was able to endure the Cross, because of the joy that was set before Him:

Hebrews 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

If we live only for the present and forget the future, then trials will make us bitter, not better:

Job 23:10-12 “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. 11My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.”

2.   The Understanding Mind (Know)

James 1:3 “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

What do Christians know that makes it easier to face trials and benefit from them?

*Faith is always tested

*Testing works for us not against us

1 Peter 1:7 “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Trials work for the believer, not against them.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

*Trials rightly used help us to mature

Romans 5:3-4 “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

In the Bible patience is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering and difficulty.

Hebrews 6:12 “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Hebrews 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

Start here 3-5-2025

3.   A Surrendered Will (Let)

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

God cannot build our character without our cooperation. If we resist Him, then He chastens us into submission. But if we submit to Him, then He can accomplish His work.

God’s goal for our lives is maturity.

1 John 2:12-14

God builds character before He calls to service. He must work in us before He can work through us.

But God cannot work in us without our consent. There must be a surrendered will.

Ephesians 6:6 “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

Psalm 131:2 “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

God uses trials to wean us away from childish things, but if we do not surrender to Him, we will become even more immature.

4.   A Believing Heart (Ask)

James 1:5-8 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

When we go through God-ordained difficulties, what should we pray about?

“Wisdom”- can be defined as the ability to view life from God’s perspective in the context this is written.

Why do we need wisdom when we are going through trials? Why not ask for strength, or grace, or even deliverance?

James 4:6 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 

He also gives more and more wisdom. The greatest enemy to answered prayer is unbelief, “with no doubting” 1:6.

Ephesians 4:14 “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

5.   Trials Effect Everybody.

James 1:9-12 “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. 12Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Ephesians 2:6-7 “And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

He to is reminded of the fragility of life: “but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away” vs.10.

But the one who stands up under the weight of trials will be blessed, vs.12. The word “blessed” means genuinely happy.

Matthew 5:1-11

Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

James describes that reward in heaven as “the crown of life” vs.12.

With an eye toward our personal response to God’s truth, let’s revisit two ways we can handle adversity:

*First, when trouble come, it’s essential that we respond with wisdom.

*Second, when trouble come, we should respond in faith.