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| JAMES LESSON #13 James 1:2 �Consider it all �joy�� - What�s joy? How am I supposed to be �joyful� when I�m in the fire? Where�s �joy� come from? What�s James saying? Remember, he�s talking to new Christians who are fleeing for their lives. The word �joy� in the Greek is: chara. It means, �the occasion of joy� - It�s in the �aorist tense� � meaning �at one moment in time� It�s in the �middle voice� � meaning that it�s in cooperation with the Holy Spirit It�s in the �imperative: - meaning it�s not a suggestion, it�s a command. Every occasion is not going to be one of joy � but when you enter into the fire, that�s one of those occasions. You can not do this on your own. This is done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. It�s a command. I want to look at this because I struggled with when I began to study thinking to myself, how in the world could I consider it all joy � holding my sick child �watching my husband walk out of my life �seeing my house burn down �and the list goes on. This whole idea is put back on the table again in I Thessalonians 5:18. It says in �everything� give what? Thanks. Brennen Manning suggests that the person with an abiding spirit of gratitude is the one who truly trusts God. I asked the question, �How can I have �gratitude� in the face of enormous pain� � like the loss of a loved one, etc. The answer I uncovered was that gratitude arises from the acceptance of all of life as grace - We talked about grace in earlier lessons. Seeing all of life as grace � an undeserved and unearned gift from the Father�s hand � the key here is the word �all.� The minute we see �all� of life as an undeserved and unearned gift from God, we�ve just acknowledged that God is just that � God. How quickly we take for granted �the gift given� � and how quickly we forget that life indeed is a �gift� when the fire surrounds us. As I first looked at James 1:2 and saw that �considering it all joy� wasn�t a suggestion, but a command, I thought- �Man that�s a strong demand in the face of pain. Then I began to look at it. Bottom line is that we fall into sin every time we fail to be grateful. When we are �ungrateful,� we open our hearts up to spiraling emotional spin offs that question God�s wisdom � question God�s love � question God�s faithfulness � and the list continues: as it sends us into behaviors that follow those thoughts (depression, withdrawal from others, isolation, rage, and the list goes on). Manning suggested that perhaps the number one sin of Adam and Eve was that of ingratitude. Ingratitude begins with the thought � �I know more about what I need than God does � � and from there, we get into grave trouble. Why the �command� to be joyful? Because outside of that, especially in the fire, God knows it�s deadly to be anything but that. Henri Nouwen writes: To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives- the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections � that, requires hard spiritual work. We are only truly grateful when we can say thank you for ALL that has brought us to the present moment. Here is a key: As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would LIKE to remember // and those we would rather forget � we can not claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Question is: How do you do that? Mannning suggests that the �highest form of giving� is thanks-giving. Again, I asked why? James is talking about �joy and trials� � so I inserted �trials� into the blank: -abandonment of a parent in a child�s life -abandonment of a spouse/divorce -betrayal of an affair -sickness/loss of a child or family member -great financial loss and the list goes on: Then, I looked at this word, �joy�- and again asked �How?� The answer is found in the �middle voice-� �cooperating with the Holy Spirit� - When I looked at the word �cooperating� it meant : �to work �together� for a common purpose. I know that God�s part of the equation is to enable me to be grateful � to fortify that � to strengthen it and support it � but what�s my part? When I looked at �my part� I was confronted. I instantly saw that I had a �choice.� I had the option of total acceptance of all that my journey has encountered � or a life of resentment, self pity, and despair. As Manning points out, I can not be grateful, and full of resentment and self-pity at the same time. Ouch! My part? Is to let go of the resentment and self-pity by acknowledging that God is who He really says He is � trusting His heart � and giving Him permission in my life to be just that � God. The �cooperation� part kicks into gear when I am obedient � recognizing that all that I encounter is an undeserved gift � one, that if I trust God�s heart, will be used for His glory (giving a correct picture to everyone of who He is) and my good. This �cooperation� will not remove the tears � or the anger in some situations � the emotion in trials will remain very real. The difference? You won�t be alone- and your relationship with God will only be driven into deeper intimacy. If you allow your mind to go in any other direction in a trial your �thoughts� will drive you to question God�s intent: Dangerous waters. In the Psalms David repeatedly uses the line, �the sacrifice of praise.� I really never considered saying �thanks� to God a �sacrifice� � however, when you put saying �thank you� and �great pain� together � I decided to take a look at what �sacrifice� actually meant. Sacrifice: the act of freely offering the life of a person in honor to God: That�s quite a definition when you insert it into what we�re taking a look at. Whether it�s my sick child, the abandonment of my parents, the loss of my husband or wife, the betrayal of an affair, the rebellion of my kids � you fill in the blank: when I offer the �sacrifice� of praise: the �sacrifice� part is laying down all my hopes, my resentments, my walls of protection, my self-pity and saying �Here�s �my life� God� �I trust your heart. I know you love all of these more than I ever could. I know you want what�s best for them more than I ever could. I trust your heart � even if I don�t understand your hands � and I thank You for hope. Outside of You, there is none. �THAT, is �sacrifice� � the greatest giving- �thanks� �giving. Why? Because �thanks� giving is �life� giving � the �giving up� of the expectations and control I have for my own life � in exchange for His. The response? The joint effort of His Spirit responding to my obedience. In earlier lessons we identified the root of joy � gratitude. GET THIS: It is not JOY that makes us grateful: It is GRATITUDE that makes us joyful. James 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces �ENDURANCE.� What�s our part in the fire? We�ve already looked at �joy� � How critical is that to the next move? VERY. It�s gratitude and joy that enables us to �endure.� Endurance in the Greek is hupo: �under� mone: �abide� Usually the LAST thing we �feel� like doing when the fire gets hot is �abiding under� � our normal response? RUN! GIVE UP! QUIT! If you find yourself surrounded by the fire and say, �If this is what serving Jesus is all about you can forget it! I don�t need this. I will not forgive them. They don�t deserve to be forgiven. I�m not going to stand back and just �take it.� I didn�t do anything to deserve this � and you walk away � you PROVE that you never knew Jesus in the first place. Why? Your response to what�s happening to you visibly shows that you�re operating �on your own� � not, in �cooperation with the Holy Spirit.� You�re not agreeing with God concerning the position you�re in. You�re �wrestling� with Him. We covered I Corinthians 10:13 in earlier lessons, but I want to point out that this is a promise. No matter what the fire is you�re standing in, it is not unique to you � you�re not in something that no one else has faced. The word �temptation� is the same noun (peirasmos) that you see in James 1:2-�when you encounter various trials� - Important KEY: No temptation, or trial will overtake you that others have not encountered: the temptation or trial IS NOT THE SITUATION YOU�RE EXPERIENCING: IT�S WHAT OU WILL DO IN RESPONSE TO WHAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THAT�S THE TEST. God is sovereign. If what you�re in you couldn�t bear � He wouldn�t allow it to happen. The key is, that HE will provide the way out. Not you. Everything in you will WANT to figure out, manipulate out, work out, fight out �however out you want to get out � but God�s allowed it so He can be exactly who He is: GOD in your life. God�s way out will never ever be contrary to His Word. You�re in the heat of the fire and you don�t know what to do: First response will be � handle it on my own: �Endurance� response will be: James 1:5 � Help me God. You run to HIM. You don�t run to every friend you can talk to. You don�t run to drugs. You don�t run from therapist to therapist. All of these things may be �workable� answers for temporary fixes- but the bottom line is, you�ll hit the wall if you don�t go to God. If you can remember to do that FIRST, the therapists, etc- that HE may or may not involve in your way out will be directed and ordered by HIM � not you � and the pieces will fit together. -you ask God for wisdom. -you ask Him trusting His heart � (convinced that He loves you (faith)) Hebrews 11:6 But without faith (being totally convinced that He loves you more than you could ever imagined you could be loved) it is impossible to please Him. For He that comes to God must first believe that He IS � and then believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (What�s the reward? HIMSELF) When you ask with fear- When you ask with doubt- When you ask with reservation- Not totally convinced that He loves you and that He�s for you- You will reel emotionally. God says, �Be still.� Look up the following: Psalm 46:1 He�s not only our refuge and strength, but He�s PRESENT. How do we �endure?� Psalm 46:10 Cease striving � why? Because when you do, I can act on your behalf. As long as you�re in control, you�re in control. Psalm 37:3 Trust Him � He loves you � He�s for you � nothing that surrounds you will help you believe that SO: Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in Him (How? Time in the Word � why? Faith comes from hearing and hearing from where, the Word) And He will give you the desires of your heart: Your heart will desire what His desires- Psalm 37:5 In gratitude let go of your life: Commit your way to the Lord. TRUST Him and �you????� will do it? Nope.. and HE will do it. That�s what this is all about � experiencing God as God. Your job? Psalm 37:7 Rest where? In the Lord. Wait patiently on what? Him. How? In gratitude � a joint effort between you and His Spirit. Why? Psalm 37:23 -25 Everything about you is ordered by Him � He �delights� in you : At every moment you have to decide to trust the voice that says, �I love you. I knit you together in your mother�s womb-(Psalm 139:13) Stop trying to work it out on your own terms- Stop trying to find your own answers- Trust me and I�ll give you what you need. The number one requirement? Invite me to take control of your life. I won�t do it until you ask. For as long as you�ve been you�ve worked hard at pleasing everything that surrounds you- looking at what others say and do concerning you to figure out who you are. I�ve allowed you to walk into the fire and I�m asking you to let go of all your props and trust Me � trust My heart- that it will be enough for you. I have you in a position of choice: Trust My heart and experience Me � or work out nothing on your own, and drown. As Manning writes: Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it. Trust is that rare treasure that wins us the affection of God Himself. When you can�t see His hands- When you can�t hear His voice- When all you know is the heat of the fire- Trust His heart- The heart that held Him on the cross. Love to you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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