Wisdom In Trials! | James 1:2-10

Introduction: Are you going through a problem in your life that you don’t understand. You don’t know why it has to happen to you. If you ask yourself: What did I do to deserve this? God why did you allow that in my life? Most probably we will never get an answer for that. The most prominent thought during a trial is we need to come out of it ASAP.

Now every trial that comes our way has a purpose and instead of reasoning out or battling with someone for what you are going through, there is a way to respond and come out of it stronger. You say pastor, “You don’t know what I am going through,” Yes I do not know the depth of it but we have guidelines in the Bible on how to endure them to get the best out of it.

Open your Bibles to the epistle of James. James is writing to the first century Jewish believers who had been scattered through the world; undergoing temptations, pain, and difficulties. As a matter of fact everybody both, believers and nonbelievers have trouble in life. Many of you are experiencing one today. Some of you have just come out of one but in life there are troubles.

James 1:2-3 ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Every difficulty is a test of your faith and it is interesting to know that testing of our faith is a crucial part of God’s design for people. ‘Whenever you face trials of many kinds’ Facing trials in the original text is connected with time, kairos. It is not a time on the clock, but a time in destiny, a time in one’s life. There will come a time of testing. They are going to come.

God promises victory for those who go through trials. James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood his test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. God promises special reward for his children who are faithful and trust him in trial. There is a reward in this world as well as crown in heaven.

Now two weeks back, I showed you that trials have many purposes. It is there in your outlines. Today I will proceed and speak about how to respond in times of trials. What gives the ability to persevere and not fall away?

1. A Joyous Attitude

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. The first thing the enemy does in a trial is to steal our joy. In life there are always joy stealers. There is always a window somewhere in a trial for a true believer to find a source of joy. We need to cultivate a joyful attitude in our trials

I am not saying neglect the pain but knowing that God is in control gives us joy. But see what the Bible says: Psalm 30:5 – weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When the trial passes, then joy comes to us as we experience the victory. Trials are momentary, so keep your joy intact in trails.

2. An Understanding Mind

James 1:2-4 ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face .trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you maybe mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:3 KJV Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worked patience.

Now you have to go into trials with knowledge what trials do for you. You need to know that trials produce endurance. We have joy in trials because all that trials accomplish is strengthen us, they do make us more useful, that they can never destroy me, they can never obviate the plan of God. They can never alter his eternal design for me. So we know that God is up to something for our benefit in our trials.

3. A Submissive Will

Frankly speaking no one likes to have a tough time in their life. We want life to be easy and well taken care of. But we know the fact that life is not always easy. So when trials come, instead of rebelling against the trial, instead of rebelling against God, a submissive spirit to God’s will in that trial is beneficial.

James 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work (so when a trial comes, God is doing something) so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. In other words, let the trial come and let it bring maturity and perfection into us. So all we have to do is submit your will to God during the trial. It is an attitude that says, “Lord I know that you are doing something for my good. So I am ready to face the trial and I submit myself totally to endure it.”

So the right attitude in going into a trial a joyous, joyous attitude, the understanding mind, and a submissive will that eagerly and anxiously accepts it knowing that is the path to perfection.

4. A Search For Wisdom

Let’s say you are going through a trial and you are really doing your best to keep a joyous attitude, an understanding mind, and a submissive will. But you are having difficulty really grasping what’s happening. You might be saying to yourself, “I know I have be joyful, I want to have a right understanding, and I want to have a submissive will. But I am struggling to understand this.”

Well, what you really need is one thing, you need wisdom. You need wisdom for a trial. You’ll not be able to maintain a joyous attitude and an understanding mind and a submissive will unless God gives you more than just your human faculties to work with.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. “If any of you lack wisdom….” When you are going through a trial, you are not going to find in your human reasoning all the answers. Any believer is going to feel weak. He’s going to look for something to hold on to in the midst of the trial. And where does he go, he goes to God and he asks for wisdom. That’s the promise. If any lack wisdom, let him what? Let him ask of God. Let him ask of God. God provides that wisdom.

Proverbs 3:5-7 ⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (When you are going through a trial, when you are going through difficulty, don’t lean on your own understanding.) ⁶in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Don’t look to yourself for answers anywhere, ask God for divine wisdom in trials. I think about Job who tried to get answers from everybody around him and everybody gave him the wrong answer. And the right answer is always available at the hand of God.

Come with me to Job 28. The first part of the chapter it talks about mining for precious metal and how men will go to incredible lengths to find wealth. They take it out of the earth and they go deeply into the ground and they go through all kinds of things to try to find wealth.

Job 28:3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.

Job 28:10-13 ¹⁰He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures. ¹¹He searches the sources of rivers and brings hidden things to light. ¹²“But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? ¹³Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. It’s not available. It isn’t for sale and it doesn’t have a price.

Job 28:14-23 ¹⁴The deep says, “It is not in me;” the sea says, “It is not with me.” ¹⁵It cannot be bought with the finest gold, not can its price be weighed in silver. ¹⁶It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with previous onyx or sapphires. ¹⁷Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, not it can be had for jewels of gold. ¹⁸Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. ¹⁹The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold. ²⁰”Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? ²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. ²²Destruction and death say, “Only a rumour of it has reached our ears.” Destruction and death have heard about it but they do not find it. And then verse 23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells.

So, if you want wisdom in trial who do you go too? You go to God. That’s much more important than running to your friends for answers and getting into the same situation that Job got into. If anyone needs wisdom, God gives it to him.

Now, what kind of wisdom are we talking about? We are talking about doing the right thing in trials, wisdom to find the, wisdom to have the right mind, wisdom to have a submissive spirit, wisdom to know what God is doing when I am suffering.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. This is right conduct in all of life’s matters. That’s what we’re talking about. When Christians go through troubles nowadays, the first response is usually to run to some other human resource, but God gives wisdom in trials.

How can I find Wisdom in Trials?

1. Ask God In Prayer

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God…

If you are going through trials and you can’t understand why, then the simple reason initially is, you haven’t asked God to give you wisdom.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God… That is not optional. That is mandatory. That is a command. Trials are intended to drive us in dependency on God, to him in prayer.

Trials have a way of enhancing your prayer life, right? If you are going through some deep trouble in your life and it has not enriched your prayer life, then maybe the trouble will keep going on until you finally wake up and begin to do that.

James 5:16-18 ¹⁶The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ¹⁷Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. God answers prayer.

And what are we going to find when we pray in trials? James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. We have a generous and gracious God who desires to pour out his wisdom in trials.

Proverbs 2:2 Turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding. How am I going to get that? Proverbs 2:3-6 ³…indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, ⁴and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, ⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. ⁶For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

God has it available and wants to give it to the seeking heart. But God holds it back until you come and ask for it, demonstrating your trust and your dependence on him. Jeremiah 29:11-13 ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7-8 ⁷Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he will hear us.

When you go through a trouble, when you go through difficulty, when you go through trial, go to God in prayer. God doesn’t lay out conditions. James 1:5 …and it will be given to him. He gives freely and generously the wisdom you need to understand and respond properly to that trial.

1. Ask In Faith

James 1:6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Some of you are going through a trial; you are praying about it, you are regular to church but there is still no reply from God. It is probably that you have not asked with true faith.

We are supposed to pray like this: 1 Timothy 2:8 KJV I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. There are some people who just doubt that God can give them an answer. There are other people who just want to argue with God about why he did what he did. And so their prayers are nothing but a fight. Do not doubt the purpose and the will of God in your trial, pray to God in faith.

In Matthew 21 Jesus answered and said unto them: Matthew 21:21-22 ²¹Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²²If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Matthew 17:20 Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

This word is not referring to a literal mountain. And mustard seed faith is faith that starts small and gets very big, a mustard seed was the smallest of agricultural seeds and it became this big bush like tree. And what he was saying here is, if you have faith that starts small, but perseveres and grows large, you are going to see great movements of God in response to your prayer.

James 1:6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. The wavering person who goes to God and doesn’t really believe that God can provide the wisdom and vacillates is like the restless sea moving back and forth with its endless tides, never able to settle. Like that one tossed to and fro and blown around. That wavering person, the doubting person is like the surging sea.

James 1:7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. And it’s really sad to see that. A person who comes to the church. They go through severe trial and instead of having a joyous attitude, an understanding mind, a submissive will and a believing heart, they flip flop and they don’t seem to be able to pray and ask for wisdom from God. They literally are unwilling to cash in the resources that God has provided in their spiritual account. And they receive nothing.

James 1:8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. A double-minded man is a sinful man. James 4:8 Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1. Read God’s Word

Proverbs 2:1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you.

Proverbs 2:2 Turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Hide the Word of God in your heat day after day after day. It is like eating nutritious food for good health, you eat a mix of things. We have to build our reservoir of the Word of God so that in the times of trial the words of God will give you wisdom. You getting understating will depend on your capacity of the knowledge of the Word of God. So read your Bible daily.

5. Have A Humble Spirit

James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.

KJV Let the brother of low degree rejoice that he is exalted.

Let the brother of low degree – What does that mean? The poor man. The economically weak Christian is already humbled because of the low status and low money. He goes through a trial and he is again humbled, but the Bible says “rejoice that he is exalted.” Trials and life’s nothingness make you humble, but spiritually you are exalted.

He may be hungry, but he has the bread of life. He maybe thirsty, but he has the water of life. He may be poor, but he has eternal riches. He may be cast aside by men, but he has been received by God. He may have no home here, but he has a glorious home in the life to come. So he says, you poor folks rejoice that you have received divine attention, take pride in your high position.

James 1:10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.

We are talking about the rich Christian, the one who seems to have it all going his way. He has all the money, the possessions and a well established man. The wealthy Christian should rejoice in trials and take pride in his low position here and high position in heaven because in trials he has to face the bankruptcy of worldly riches. There are trials that come our way that worldly money cannot overcome. He too is humbled and looks for exaltation in his spirit.

So the humble person, rejoices in the provision of God and the wealthy person rejoices in the provision of God the same way.

So the point here is, whether poor or rich, trials come into live to humble us and true humility, whether it possesses much of this worlds good or little, true humility says, my resources are in God. So have a humble spirit.

Conclusion: Commit the trials you are going through today in the hands of God. You may not understand anything but God knows exactly what you are going through and the outcome of it. Let’s ask God for His wisdom in our trials.