“This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
James is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and when I was a teenager I decided to memorize the entire first chapter. It was truly a supernatural experience, as I memorized the whole thing in about an hour and it has been burned into my mind ever since. I have never had another passage that has stuck with me so deeply.
James’ audience is Jewish believers, living in all parts of the known world. These early believers had to expect trouble, since they were often hunted down for their faith. The whole spiritual journey was centered around clinging to your faith no matter who came to arrest you for it. Persecution was considered an honor, and it is in this vein that James expresses an opportunity for great joy when trials come. Think of what we saw of Peter and Paul in our study of Acts — they both were the most influential when they were facing opposition. The testing of faith produces a supernatural endurance, and you don’t need anything else when you have this because you’ve basically learned to survive it all.
You don’t have to quit. You can grow in the area of endurance. Perhaps you are facing a trial or difficulty right now, and you wonder if you will make it through. You might not feel strong right now. But you can get stronger. Every single day that you wake up and decide you are going to look straight into the wind and climb up that hill, you get a little stronger. Keep doing that and over time you will have developed those spiritual muscles and you will be able to face all the challenges that come your way. This strength is not from yourself, but from the expansion of the Holy Spirit in your heart as you lean into him instead of giving up.