James 1:2 – 4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothrs, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
“I don’t want to hear anything more from someone who hasn’t earned his or her Ph.D. in suffering!” The year was 1990. We had just returned from Ghana, where we had stayed for two years. We had made many friends among the Ghanaian people and had become semi – fluent in one of the major tribal languages.
But the group that had sent us out refused to fully assess our situation. Jumping to conclusions, the group that sent us had ended our term at two years, refusing to allow us any defense, any discussion, or any appeal. To make matters even worse, ridiculous and hurtful things had been said by people who had no grasp of the challenges of our situation. Now we were back in America, and well – intentioned acquaintances were mouthing useless platitudes.
By the time I made this statement to my friend, I had decided that these acquaintances evidently lived in shrink – wrapped situations. Shrink wrap is the clear stretchy cellophane that covers vegetables and fruits in packages, protecting them from any harm. During that terrible time, the people who were most helpful were those who had suffered the most themselves. One friend had endured repeated sexual abuse by her stepfather; another was in the midst of a difficult divorce that she did not want. Yet another friend had several children caught up in substance abuse despite all her best efforts.
It’s amazing but true that frequently those who have suffered the most are not only the least likely to speak about their own suffering but also the most likely to sympathize with others. So what good is suffering anyway?
James tells us that suffering comes through “trials of many kinds.” Most of us don’t learn very much the first time we encounter injustice or difficulties. We sort of soldier our way through but remain basically unchanged. Many times, we blame others for the problems, conveniently ignoring any contribution we ourselves might have made. Or perhaps we really do come up against pure absolute injustice; we haven’t done anything to deserve the problems we are facing. But again, the first few times this happens, we are still likely to just slog on through and hope that situation never occurs again. Unless and util we encounter trials of several different kinds so that we suffer at different levels and in different circumstances, we are not too likely to learn perseverance.
“But what good is perseverance anyway?” you might ask. James tells us that our faith must be tested in several different kinds of trials before we develop perseverance. Every time we survive another trying situation, we gain faith that we will be able to overcome the next challenge. As our faith grows, we also develop the ability to continue onwards, no matter how many negatives we find in our situation.
I used to love to listen to my dad’s stories of growing up on the farm in the age of horses because things were so much more difficult and yet people were able to succeed in farming despite those problems. Dad told me about years of drought, years of poor farm prices, the terrible weather in the 1930’s that led to blizzards, dust storms, hordes of swarming insects attacking crops, floods, etc. Through all of these things, the farmers continued to endure, to adapt, and to move on.
When I was a kid, we had a horrible sickness that attacked many of our baby pigs, wiping out much of our hog population and threatening our family’s livelihood. Watching my parents endure helped me to realize that it was possible to cope with terrible situations and to move on. (I will never forget the stench of the burning bodies of the dead baby pigs; there were too many to just bury.)
Finally, James tells us that when perseverance has completed its work in us, we will be “perfect and mature, not lacking anything.” We can fight against a trial, or we can see how we can cope, how we can adjust, how we can move forward. It sounds incredibly trite, but it is true: suffering will either make us bitter or better. Which will it be? The choice is yours.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to see your hand in all of our circumstances, the bad ones as well as the good ones. Please help us to endure suffering and to learn perseverance. We thank you that you are a loving Father and that you send us trials to help mature us and not to destroy us. We thank you that there is always a way of escape, spiritually if not physically. Please help us to see your hand in our problems right now. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
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