“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4
Perseverance and Patience
In these verses, James is saying that trials are inevitable. He doesn’t use the word “if,” he says “when.” But the verses that follow, in a way, are him saying we should have joy in those trials. When life seems to be getting away from us, when we are most stressed and feel overwhelmed, he is saying we can have joy and peace in knowing who our God is.
Trials in our lives can either make us bitter or better. James is laying the groundwork for the rest of what he writes in this book of the Bible by saying that our outlook on the things we go through is important. If we have faith that the Lord is good, then the trials we face should not discourage us.
The testing of our faith produces perseverance and patience. The word James uses for patience is the Greek word “hupomone,” meaning “active endurance.” Patience doesn’t mean we simply wait around passively. It is something that trials produce.
That is why James is telling us at the very beginning of this book to change our outlook on the hard times we are going through — because the Lord can use them to make our faith in Him stronger!
— Jimmy Page
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