Verses 1-2: James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.1
James begins by briefly stating two things: First, that he is a ‘bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ The phrase ‘bond-servant’ is translated ‘slave’ elsewhere in the Bible and refers to someone who has been enslaved against their will. However, the writers of the New Testament adopt the Hebrew connotation of the word denoting a person who has willing submitted themselves to the service of another.
Secondly, he then declares the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord, thus affirming that He indeed was truly deity. This is a noteworthy statement coming from one who was most assuredly the half-brother of the Lord Jesus.
He then adds that he writes this epistle to his fellow Jews who have been scattered across the known world at this time. Many faced persecution because of their expression of faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. And since this was an abomination to the Jewish leaders of the day, they faced religious as well as cultural ostracism.
Consider Joy
James proceeds right into his discourse by issuing the command: consider. We are to consider [count - KJV] or to think or regard as joy when we encounter various trials. These ‘various trials’ could entail adversities that range from personal misfortunes to the enticement of sin, either overt or secreted. These trials may also include testing our momentum to advance in the Christian life. They may come from a number of sources: our marriage, our family, or friends; the people we work with; from government or a business or an organization; a disaster we encounter like warfare, weather, criminal activity, loss of a loved one; they may even be self-induced because of poor decisions. Our ability to overcome testing will be determined by the amount of doctrinal truth we know and our ability to apply it to the circumstances.
In order to regard these trials as joy demands thinking, and what we as believers think needs to be grounded in our knowledge of doctrine. But if that doesn’t seem to be a super-human feat, we are to regard all these trials as joy. And in the Bible, all means all—every trial that we are confronted with, we are to consider it all joy.
But what is meant by joy? Dr. Davids explains that this is pure joy but it “is not a present happiness, but joy in anticipation of God’s future.2 God’s future anticipates our spiritual growth, enabling us to endure any and all obstacles. Now this doesn’t mean that in the midst of a tragedy (illness, death, etc.) that we are to jump up and click our heels and yell “Hallelujah!” What James is telling us is that we should not lose the joy of our salvation and despise the opportunity that trials provide for our spiritual maturing. James will discuss this in the following verses.
But first, notice that the word ‘encounter’ indicates “to fall into the midst of something so as to be totally surrounded by it.”3 Very much like the expression we might use when someone becomes entangled in some difficulty: “He really fell into it this time!” Almost as if someone was walking about, minding their own business and WHAM! They fall flat in the midst of an overwhelming dilemma.
That is exactly what James means. We may be going merrily through life and without forewarning we are suddenly faced with a desperate and traumatic situation. And sometimes it can be a large problem or a small difficulty—like the charge of an elephant or the sting of a bee. It is in these times that we are to stop—before we blow our stacks—and consider it an opportunity to put into action the promise of God’s sustainment and our total reliance upon Him for the outcome.
It is at this moment when our knowledge of His Word can be utilized to overcome the trial. If we simply recall certain promises of Scripture and claim His guidance through the troublesome time, we will acquire the power needed to have victory over any testing.
For example: when we are upset over the loss of a job or having been jilted by a loved one, we should take a promise of how God provides peace and claiming His sustainment during this time.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3 ESV)
The key to this verse is that God provides perfect peace as a result of our trust in Him. When the full meaning of this verse is understood and believed that God has a perfect plan for our lives and in spite of this moment in time when we are saddened and feeling dejected, He still has a direction for our life that will fulfill His plan. Once we realize that our lives are centered in His plan, we will be able to consider it joy in the midst of trial or testing.
This is not meant to be some psychological mind trick. This is absolute assurance and trust that God has our best interest in mind. We should be encouraged by His great promise concerning testing and temptation:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
[1] All scriptures are quoted from the New American Standard Bible, unless where noted
[2] Davids, P. H. (1994). James. In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham, Eds.), Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, p. 1357.
[3] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G4045.
© 2023 David M. Rossi