Title: Those whom I love I chasten
Author: Andrew Nugteren
Company: Private

How to Face Personal Trials
Text: James 1:1-4
Readings: 
•	Job 42 
•	James 1:1-4 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Surely James must have had his head in the clouds when he wrote those words to the Christians of Jewish background who were scattered throughout various parts of the Roman empire. Of course, those Christians were no strangers to trouble. Some of the worst forms of it came from the Jewish folk who regarded them as traitors to the cause - accepters of a new form of heresy - worshippers of a carpenter from Galilee who was executed as a criminal of the worst sort by order of the Roman governor. Those diehard Jews sure knew how to turn the heat up for the Christian converts. 
Neither was James himself a stranger to hardship. This was not James, the brother of John, the son of Zebedee. That James was killed by Herod Agrippa soon after the resurrection of Jesus. We read about that in Acts 12. But the James who wrote this letter was one of the immediate relatives of Jesus and he had become a prominent figure in the congregation at Jerusalem. And he too knew all about what it was to go through tough times. We can deduce that from the mention made of the Jerusalem congregation and the hardships it went through in the rest of the New Testament. So this was no person on a $200,000 income telling poor folk in the congregation that they need not worry about their lack of money. This is a person who spoke from personal experience and we can have no quarrel with that. But the problem is his attitude to trials. Any person who says we should consider it pure joy when we encounter various trials, when that is just the opposite of how we feel, has at best to have a very strange view of life, and at worst to be uttering nonsense. 
Just what was it that made James say this? And what can we apply to our own lives in relation to the trials that we face? I know that many of you are going through tough times now. In fact I can virtually guarantee that all of you can name at least some form of trial that you are experiencing right now. You notice that James isn’t being particular here. He is not saying that some trials are better than others. He says we should react the same way when we encounter any and all trials. And so my message this evening is directed particularly at those of you who are having trouble in your lives and are finding it very difficult to cope. And for those who are coping, let our text be an encouragement for you to help you continue to face your circumstances in a godly and victorious way. 
With that introduction, there are three points that I want to highlight in relation to this matter of how to deal with our personal troubles. The first is this: Service and submission. Or we can put it this way: We must accept the fact that we are God’s servants. This is what James says about himself in verse 1 and it is crucial for appreciating his attitude to hardship. He describes himself not as an important and responsible spiritual leader in the church, which he was, but as a servant or a “bond servant” or a “slave” of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James considered himself as being bonded in service to God, and every member of his culture knew that a bonded servant or slave was dependent on the one he was bonded to, not just in terms of provisions for life, food and clothing, but in terms of what he did and experienced in life. The bonded servant could not simply decide to get up and emigrate to another part of the country if he felt like doing it. This was the whole point. He was not free, he was bonded to service and the decisions of the master and the will of the master had to be respected and observed at all times. 
And this is James in relation to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not his own boss. It is not his choices that determine what he will experience in life. He is conscious that God is his master and he wants to submit to whatever God plans for his life because, and in the first place, because this is God’s will for him. 
One of the reasons why the book of Job is in the Scriptures is to teach this very point. Those of you who worship here in the morning will be very familiar with this, I’m sure, because of John’s series of sermons on the subject. As we read of Job’s trials and the wrestling that he went through, I doubt very much that when we was in his agony he would have responded very well to James’ words: “Count it pure joy, Job, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” None of Job’s so-called friends say that, but we can just imagine the response if they had tried it. Yet when we read of the resolution in the end of the book, we see that Job was able to rest in the knowledge that he was in the hands of God. God had not left him. God loved him still, but it was that God’s purposes with him were beyond his understanding. He asked the question Why? and he didn’t have an answer, and that was okay. When he realized again the greatness of God and the fact that God did have a purpose but he did not understand it, he was able to rest in his service and submission to God. Now, isn’t it interesting that God could have told Job all about the devil’s statements in chapter 1 of the book, and he could have told him that believers for centuries would be encouraged and challenged by his example and the lessons that arose from his life? He could have given Job all the logical reasons why he was permitted to suffer so much, but he doesn’t. Those reasons were there, but for us to face our trials in good heart, it is not necessary for a servant of God to know them. Therefore you and I can face our trials and not know the purposes of the Almighty either. It is case of service and submission. Lord, if this is what you want, because you want it, I am ready to submit and to serve. 
It is so easy to complain and become bitter about our circumstances. The way life is - is something neutral. It is inanimate and when the car breaks down for the third time in less than a year, we can really get to feeling like life is the pits. And when other people are the cause of our problems, it is even easier to get upset. “That lousy mechanic that I paid good money to should be taken out and shot! He should know better or he shouldn’t be in business.” Ah, but it is much harder to argue with God, isn't it? We can complain about our circumstances, and curse the people around us but it is pretty hard to complain to God and curse him for arranging our lives the way he has - for directing our attention to the advertisement of that lousy mechanic or for giving us the son or daughter of his sovereign creation and choice. That’s much harder. But we have to realise that when we are embittered about life and we want to walk away from it all as some of us do from time to time, we are actually arguing and complaining to and about God the Father. And what we need to do is exactly Job did, which is not: “Praise the Lord, the mechanic has fouled up again.” But Lord, you have arranged my circumstances. You have ordered my life and even if I find it very hard, which I do, as you know full well, what I want to do is your will, not mine. I want to bow before you and be your bonded servant. I am indebted to you forever for what you have done for saving me. And if you have called me to experience this hardship, then so be it. I will do it for you. 
This is the first thing, brothers and sisters. And it is very important. We must remember that we are called to be servants of God, not servants of ourselves. But second principle is all about spiritual growth. If we are going to handle trials in the right way, we must look at the end result of the trial in our personal lives. Here James is very specific. He says [read verses 2-4]. Here we come to the heart of his perspective. He is not a weird person who loves nothing better than to experience personal pain. Oh, here’s another trial. Joy oh joy. Let’s hope for even more hard-ship than the last time. No, it is that he realises that hardship in the hands of the Master are the tools with which he shapes us and brings out in us the spiritual faith-fulness and maturity that he wants to see in us.We won’t belabour ths point because we spoke of it last Lord’s Day evening. But let me say briefly that there is nothing worse than a person who gives up at the slightest setback.. These are the ones that you never want to employ because they can nnever stick at a job and learn to be really productive and skilful. No, slightest problem arises, they cry that’s it! This is not for me. And then they cut and run in search of something easier. It is the same in the Christian life. When God enlists us in his service and we sign up with him, he wants to bring out the best in us. He wants us to hone our skills, become really productive. He wants us to be in a position to help others in their spiritual lives, so what does he do to produce in us this faithfulness, patience and balanced maturity in our experience? He sends us hardship. He quite deliber-ately steers us in directions that will put the pressure on and make us at times feel like cutting and running. You say, well, that’s pretty tough because God is supposed to be loving and kind to us and I have been busy asking him to make my circum-stances easier. “Oh, so you have arrived, have you? You are as mature as it is pos-sible for you to be and you don’t need any more discipline through circumstances in your life?” You see, brothers and sisters, God does this in your life precisely because he loves you very, very much and he has an interest in you, his servant, an interest and a calling that is likely much larger than you realise. And your wanting to change your circumstances all the time is like saying to God: “Lord, I want to learn and grow. I want to become mature as a Christian, but hey, I don’t like your teaching methods.” But when you stop and think about it, God knows how to teach. He has been teaching and leading his servants since time first began. And somehow I don’t think he is going to make a mistake with you and with me. 
This is why James was joyful, brothers and sisters, not just in relation to his own personal trials but also the trials that he saw others going through. He knew what these things would produce in their lives. He knew that ultimately, these hard-ships would prove to be a blessing. 
There is one final point that I want to make and I make it especially for those of you whom I haven’t yet convinced. Yes, you are saying. It all sounds good. Servant of God and all that, being shaped to become mature Christians. Yes, it seems great but still I find it very difficult and if only you knew that I was going through, you would not be saying these things. Well, for you, I give you one final reason why you must hang in there. We can sum it up in the word satisfaction. Not the best choice of words, perhaps but when you are looking for three words, all beginning with “s”, you sometimes have to make some sacrifices. We can put it this way. When we look at the end result of faithful service, hanging in there is very much worth it. In verse 12 we read [read]. Hanging in there, being faithful and not quit-ting means that we will receive the Lord’s reward. It is described here as a crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. You see, brothers and sis-ters, when we are determined to be faithful, for the sake of the Lord, he is not unmindful of our efforts. He knows that we are doing this for him because we love him and for no other reason and he will give us what he has promised. 
That will be the time, in eternity, when there will not be any more of these kinds of burdens. We will not need to become more mature by learning the hard way or the easy way for that matter, because we will all be mature. We will be per-fect, with no more sins to dog and discourage us. And so will everyone else who is saved by the blood of Christ and who perseveres for his sake in this life. 
Which is it to be? Will you through it all away and quit now for the sake of an easier life? Or are you going to hold on to the promise of an eternity which is far better than anything you have experienced? Life is very, very short in relation to eternity, brothers and sisters. That means that our trials and struggles, in their dur-ation, are also very short. Remember that, when you find the going really hard. 
I hope you will agree with me that James makes a great deal of sense. Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you encounter various trials.
Amen.