Day 1: Pure Joy
James 1:2–4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. (James 1:2)
After moving past the salutation of the letter, James opens with an oft-quoted verse about pure joy. What an exciting beginning! We all want joy. And pure joy—that is, joy at its finest—is even better.
Yet James connects this pure joy with facing trials. Hardships are something we’d all like to avoid. We don’t even want to read about them. Yet James combines these two extremes.
First, we should consider joy as not being synonymous with happy, even though the dictionary uses one word as a possible descriptor of the other. Being happy is more superficial and temporary, whereas joy is deeper and transcendent. This is the joy James refers to.
When we encounter life’s difficulties, we should embrace them with joy—with pure joy. We know that as we persevere through these challenges, we will become better for it. We grow, and we mature. We become stronger and more complete as a person, as a follower of Jesus. It sets us up to finish the race before us (2 Timothy 4:7).
What are these trials?
Trials of “many kinds” cover an array of ordeals. Rather than specify what they are, James leaves it up to us individually to determine. What looms as a hardship for one may not be a hardship for someone else. A burden that may test the faith of one person may be a non-issue for another.
Let’s consider some kinds of trials we may face.
What first comes to mind is temptations. The temptation to sin is a huge trial for many. When we face temptation, we turn toward God and resist it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Each time we resist, we become stronger.
Another area that can produce trials comes from relationships. Some relationships present formidable challenges. This may occur at work, with neighbors, or from our own family. These can produce emotional distress. We must seek the Holy Spirit to guide us in navigating these difficulties in a God-honoring way. (If the threat is physical, we must first seek to keep ourselves safe.)
A third consideration is money, along with food, shelter, and the necessities of life. These provide another type of trial that many people face. Whether these come from within—poor decision-making—or from without, James wants us to confront it with pure joy. We know that as we seek God to persevere through it, we will mature in the process.
Each one of these scenarios can produce a crisis of faith. We pray for God to deliver us from our specific trial, but the answers may not come as fast as we’d like or in the way we wish. We may then question God and the confidence we place in him.
Our faith can also undergo a trial—a testing—when doubt forms in our minds. This can come from what other people say or when the enemy assaults us. It’s not wrong to struggle in this area, but it is wrong to let this distress turn us from God. Instead, we should give our questions and our doubts over to him, trusting him to guide us through it as we seek him.
As we face these various trials, we should know that through the test we will develop perseverance and mature into who God wants us to become.
This should give us pure joy.
What trials do we face? How can we better embrace them with pure joy?
[Discover more about joy in Luke 6:22–23, John 15:10–12, Romans 14:17, and Galatians 5:22.]
