your attitude and your understanding…

now when you read a letter you normally figure that the guy is going to warm up and ease into his subject.  he or she is going to have a few preliminaries, opening remarks, and then move into the message.  but james drops a bomb in verse 2.  he announces who he is and then in verse 2 (niv) he says, consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

how would you like a letter like that?  “this is a letter from me…do you have problems?  be happy.”  right out front.  bam.  do you have problems?  be happy.  and i’m sure your reaction would be like mine, “what in the world are you talking about?  there is no way i can be happy. you don’t know my situation.  you don’t know my problems.” but that is the way he starts.  but i like that.  he gets right to the point.

now the key is the phrase, found in verse 2 (niv), because you know.  consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

your attitude is determined by your understanding.  rejoicing is not just positive thinking but it is based on the facts of life and james tells us first of all that problems are inescapable.

scripture doesn’t say, “if you encounter problems consider it joy” but whenever you face trials – count on it, you are going to have problems.  if you don’t have problems, check your pulse.  it is a fact of life.

JESUS said, in the world you will have tribulation.  peter said, don't be surprised when you have problems.  count on it.  problems are not an elective in life.  they are a required course.  you don’t get out of them by saying you don’t want any problems.  nobody is immune to them.

scott peck’s book the road less traveled… the first sentence is “life is difficult.”  it is.  it is inevitable that you will have problems in life.

just a thought from the front porch…