- God testing our faith through hardship -

James 1:2-3, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

As I write this journal entry today I am writing it in the mist of hardship and stress, which I will not explain. I came across today’s verse in my daily bible-reading program. God was good to me and taught me a profound insight in how to find joy in my trails. Most who have acquainted themselves frequently in the scriptures have marveled at those words; “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” It might be easy to say such things if one is unaccustomed to hardship but to say this while under great hardship is an astonishing thing. But what I really desire to focus on is the phrase “the testing of your faith.” In doing so I believe we will then find out the secret to finding joy in our hardships as well.

“The testing of your faith.”

                God does test the hearts of His saints this is clear in scripture, Psalm 7:9, “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds”, Ecclesiastes 3:18, “I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals”, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” But our text is dealing with a more specific testing, a testing of our “faith.” So the question is: “how does the testing of our faith produce patience and joy in the mist of trails and hardships?”

            First reason; it is GOD who is testing our faith and not some inadequate being who is finite in goodness and wisdom. God who has infinite flawless wisdom and boundless love toward His saints is perfect when He tests us. He never tests us to short so that we finish our test without learning the valuable lesson, which we were to learn. Nor does God test us beyond our strength. Our Holy God is Divine and flawless, He never fails. He will test us in the most perfect and loving way and will reward us with His joy and hope through every step.

James says that trials is at its most basic principle a testing of our faith. Notice what trails are not most fundamentally testing.  Trails are not primarily testing to see if you will still pray or if the power of prayer still works, nor it is a testing to see if the power of going to church is true. Trails according to the book of James are mostly about a testing of our faith. In other words since faith is mainly about believing God is who He said He is then it is clear to see what it means to have our faith tested. When God is testing our faith in hardships He is testing to see if we will still affirm Him as perfectly Good, Wise, and Sovereign as we did before the hardship. This is the one basic test, which God administers in all the hardships of the saints.

(NKJV) Job 1:21, “And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." -  (BBE) Job 1:22, “In all this Job did no sin, and did not say that God's acts were foolish.”

          Most of us are familiar with the story of Job. How this righteous man had all his children killed and his possessions destroyed by the hand of the Satan who did this at the decree of God. So that God could prove to the Satan that Job was a righteous man not wavering in his faith and love toward his God. Now Job did not know about any of this. All he knew was that all his children were killed and his life ruined. Now in light of this Job then declares that God gave and now God has taken away. That God’s name is to still be praised and blessed because as Creator He has rights to do what He pleases with His creation. Then the author of the book gives us this insight, “Job did not say that God’s acts were foolish.”  I bring up this story to demonstrate fundamentally that in hardships it is our “faith” which is being tested. Job proves this. Job did not say that prayer is still effective. But instead he affirmed that God is Infinitely Sovereign, Good and Wise even in the hardship, which he was in. God through the hand of Satan tested Job’s faith and what we find out is this; Jobs faith was strong. The author of the book of Job makes this especially abundant. It says Job did not accuse God of acting foolishly. When most people clinch their fist together and yell, “God why did you do this”, they are in reality accusing God if acting foolishly. What they are doing is questioning God’s infinite wisdom, goodness and sovereignty, when they say such statements. But the scriptures over and over affirms to us that God is perfectly Wise, Good and Sovereign in all that He does. But not only that but also God never changes. God all the time is perfect in Goodness and Wisdom toward His dealing with His children whether we are in a prosperous place or in a hardship. But the question is whether we will affirm these unchanging truths about the Divine nature of our God or whether we will question the character of God. This is what it means when the Scripture tells us God tests our faith.

        I say all of this to both bring encouragement to myself and to the reader. For if you really believe God is perfectly Good, Wise and Sovereign in all things in your life then you shall find that you can have “joy” in all your trails and hardships. For if God is not perfectly wise and good in your life, in the hardship that you are now facing, then it is nothing but a vain moment worthless and unprofitable to you. But if God is infinitely good and wise then the Almighty God can work all things in your life to your good. Therefore there is not one moment of wasted vainness for the true blood bought Christian. Because God is who He says He is, then all of your life is caught up in the eternal good and wise purposes of your Glorious God who never fails. For He promises to never leave us.

          For examples I would encourage you and I to look at Job and to our Lord Jesus Christ who when both of them past through their hardships, they received great joy and happiness. Job’s greatest blessing was not that God gave him more land and children back, but that Job grew closer in love and in truth toward His Great God. For even secular studies show money does not buy happiness. Only Christ’s communicating His Glory to our hearts can satisfy. Job 46:5, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” Job’s happiness grew because His love and knowing of the Lord grew. For it is not by mistake that the book of Psalms picks up right after this last chapter of job. There it says in the first Psalm, “Blessed(happy) in the man who…delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Happy is the man who delights in the Law of God because the law of God reveals who our God is. Therefore leading us to trust and hope in our God who is always a strong tower to the humble.  Now lastly I wish for us to ponder the Glory and example of our Great God and Savoir Jesus Christ. Notice Christ’s Joy was being closer to His Heavenly Father not worldly passions. And if our hope is the same as our Lord Jesus Christ then we shall find this same joy in all days of our lives even to the very end of time itself.

Hebrews 12:2-6, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens.”

            Therefore I encourage all my readers who are both in comfortable times and especially in hard times to keep your faith firmly grounded in the truth of who your God is as He is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Do not turn your eyes of faith either to the left or the right. But keep your hope firmly fixed on our Great God Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Spend great effort in the easier times of life to know rock solid who your GOD is, as declared in His word. Meditated, think deeply and ponder the INFINITY of God’s Power, Wisdom, Goodness, Sovereignty and Mercy. Also think about the infinity of God’s internal happiness, which He has in Himself.  Find good books such as A.W. Pink’s “The Godhead” or “The nature of God” or Jonathan Edward sermons preaching about Gods attributes, which were written to help the readers grow their knowledge and faith in who their Great God is. Sings songs that remind you of the unchanging marvelous character of your LORD and Savoir and what He has done for you. For by knowing what God has done we also can know who this God is as well by what He has done. For it is impossible to go through a hardship and not find some level of real Joy in Christ. This joy is attainable if you truly believe your God is perfectly and infinitely Good, Wise and Sovereign. That He loves you though the blood covering of Jesus Christ whom the Father infinitely loves. The Father will never look at you un-lovingly because Christ His Son is the exact shining forth of His own Glory. God the Father loves His Glory above all things and so will always love those who come to Him through the blood of His Son whom He perfectly loves. To reject at any time those who come to Him sincerely through His Son whom the Father loves, as Christ is His own Glory, is as much possible as God rejecting Himself. Which is to say it is impossible.

Prayer: