2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
“You go first.” That is my favorite line from Raiders of the Lost Ark when faced with a tomb filled with snakes. That is our reaction on reading this exhortation from James at the beginning of his letter, probably the first New Testament writing. You first, James! James will later present works as a test of their faith. If they have faith, there will be works. Here he says, “when”, meaning when they have faith, there will be trials as well. That has been true ever since. The closer we follow Christ, the more opposition we face from the evil one who hates our faith because it renders us impervious to his attacks. It is only when we succumb to the pressures of trials that he gets a foothold.
That is where the word James mentions twice in this passage; steadfastness, comes in. Read the Psalms and you will see this word steadfast 127 times. It is a comfort to the Old Testament Hebrews that even when their circumstances look dire, his steadfast love endures forever. We need to believe his steadfastness because we will soon need to exhibit our own steadfastness. Trials are coming. For many of you, they are here in the form of loss, illness, stress, and hardship. James tells us to rejoice in it because it will make us perfect, meaning wholly acceptable to the Lord through the blood. Let your faith have full effect today, for one day we will be…
Lacking in nothing.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church