August 20, 2024

James 1:1-15  (HCSB)
Greeting
1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion. Greetings. Trials and Maturity 2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways. 9 The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation, 10 but the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities. 12 A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. 13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

Ally Jackson
In this passage, we read a letter from James sent to the 12 tribes made up of Jewish believers. James sent encouragement to the believers in the form of justifying God’s grace by salvation alone, rather than good works. When we experience life’s difficult seasons, we can be quick to believe God is punishing us for doing something wrong, as if our own doings earn His favor. How different would our life look if we instead believed that God allows those He favors to be tested in faith through trials? Trials reveal the strength of our faith in times of uncertainty to both ourselves and others. I’ve always loved the saying, “God allows the toughest battles for His strongest soldiers.” For those of us blessed in the desire to exercise (that aren’t currently writing this devotional), we can compare the growth of our spiritual endurance to building our muscles. Both are achieved by beginning with small steps. Gradually increasing these steps in our spiritual or physical well-being produces a greater strength than we had before. In the same way, experiencing life’s valleys allows us to strengthen our faith when we put our trust in God. Stronger faith allows us to endure heavier trials. God can use our tribulations of any size to do great things if we allow Him to. To boldly bring this analogy full-circle: If God can do something great through us when we go through something seemingly small, imagine what He can do through a catastrophic tragedy. Only those fortunate enough to be allowed life’s toughest battles get to experience an unshakeable faith that’s strong enough to move mountains.