TRUSTING GOD IN THE DARK

James 1:5-12

Ralph Porter

© 2003



    During the past couple of weeks, a number of our people have been discovering that James is risky reading. When we start taking seriously what God says about how we deal with rising pressure, the pressure often rises.

    Several people have commented about ways they've had to deal with the rising pressure this past week! Some have faced financial crises, others had to deal with illness, or other challenges. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall, a "spy fly" in some homes to hear some of the discussions about how they might have to deal with the rising pressure in their family.

    How do we respond when the pressure rises? When times are hard and we don't know what to expect tomorrow-how do we handle it?

    More than two hundred million Christians in more than seventy countries face the relentless threat of persecution for their faith. We've been suggesting that the pressure in our country is rising. It's likely that in our lifetime, persecution will increase.

    A couple of years ago, one of our young people told his parents before leaving for school on Wednesday, when the See You at the Pole prayer meeting was to take place: "I don't want to be picked on today!" That night, at a See You at the Pole rally in Fort Worth, Texas, seven young people died for their faith in Christ. That's in our country-in 1999! I sense great concern among God's people as to what we may expect in coming years. The threat is real-even in the United States!

    On a lesser scale, we all face pressure in our lives. Since last week, several have commented that they're glad we're considering this theme, BUT . . . .

    So, how do we respond when the pressure rises and the hard times come? James was written to help God's people face times like these. It was written to Jewish believers, scattered by Jewish persecution. They had been expelled from their synagogues. Some were cut off from their families. Many of them had lost jobs or had their businesses boycotted.

  They were tempted to watch out for themselves, rather than help one another. They didn't want to be "picked on" because of their faith! Some were throwing in the towel.

    James writes to them to demonstrate how God's people ought to live during times of discouragement and pressure. He presents a call to faith in the midst of pressure. The faith he wants to see is a living faith-a faith which works.

    His main theme is that a living faith produces fruit, even in the midst of pressure. He begins that topic by demonstrating that a living faith endures tribulation (1:2-12). Seven basic principles will help us to endure under pressure.




1.    THE PRINCIPLE OF A JOYFUL ATTITUDE    1:2


    As we examined the first three principles, we observed that James' advice is exactly the opposite of our normal response. We would rather avoid the pressure! James almost advises us to seek it! We should count it a cause for joy! We can rejoice under pressure because we understand God's good purpose for our life.




2.    THE PRINCIPLE OF THE DIVINE PERSPECTIVE    1:3-4


    We accept the pressure because we know Who sent it. He is a God of love Who is seeking the best way to perfect us. People are tempted to say: "Don't ask for patience, because God will respond by sending affliction! However, in contrast to that attitude, James encourages us to seek it, because pressure is the process God uses to enable us to become all he wants us to be. It's the only way to get there from here! And it's a good process!


PRESSURE  =>  PERSEVERANCE  =>  PERFECTION




3.    THE PRINCIPLE OF PATIENT ENDURANCE    1:4

    People have a tendency to respond to the hard times God takes us through by quickly crying out to Him: "O.K. I get the point! You can stop now! Let's move on!" In contrast to that attitude James recommends a different response. God wants the pressure to continue until we receive the full benefit-so we will be complete, not lacking anything.

    Sometimes we have to "savor it" a while to learn the whole lesson God wants to teach us-so that we will lack nothing! Such patience is only possible when we understand God's perspective and discover His wisdom as to how to face it.




4.    THE PRINCIPLE OF DISCERNMENT    1:5


    Though we understand God's perspective on suffering in general, when we're in the midst of the conflict, we often struggle to understand what God is doing. At such times, the proper question is not "why?" The proper question we ought to be asking is, "Lord, what do you want to accomplish in my life?" "What can I do in this situation so You can be glorified through me?

    An unidentified writer of another century wrote:

         My life is but a weaving, between my Lord and me;

         I cannot choose the colors. He worketh steadily.

         Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow and I in foolish pride,

         Forget He sees the upper and I the under side.


         Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly,

         Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why,

         The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver's skillful hand,

         As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern He has planned.


    People with a living faith ask God for wisdom to know how to respond under pressure. James urges us, "Ask the giving God--the God Who gives generously, and without reproach, for understanding." Among the things "the giving God" delights to give is wisdom. God doesn't answer us like the teacher who gets tired of hearing the same question over and over again: "You again? When are you ever going to learn?" He is patient with us; always willing to give the answer we need to hear.




5.    THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUSTING GOD    1:6-8


    In asking for wisdom, our attitude is as important as our quest! As we ask for wisdom, our request should be accompanied by faith. When we doubt, we struggle, trying to find our own solution. This struggle produces confusion and insecurity. When we trust God and wait for His solution, there's peace, security and stability. 

    This isn't about trusting God to get us out of this mess! It's about trusting Him in the midst of the mess and asking Him for wisdom to understand what's going on from God's perspective. It's about trusting God in the dark, while we're still in the darkness, so that we're not overwhelmed by the darkness, and blown away by it! The lack of peace, that comes from a lack of faith, produces instability; we become victims of the waves.


PRESSURE  +  FAITH  =>  PERFECTION


PRESSURE  -  FAITH  =>  CONFUSION




6.    THE PRINCIPLE OF CONTENTMENT    1:9-11


    Many of those to whom James wrote lost everything for Christ's sake--their families, their friends, their possessions, even their businesses. It cost them something to be identified with Jesus.

    When we face the hard times, we can endure the rising pressure because our perspective on life is different-our view of contentment has a different foundation than the world around us. Our perspective on success is different. We have a different view of wealth, possessions, and what really matters in life. 

    Our ability to endure under pressure doesn't depend on what we own. Our ability to endure under pressure depends on our contentment with God.

    Poor people can take pride in God's work in their life. Our exalted position is that of a brother. We are part of God's family--one of God's children--an heir of God--a co-heir with Christ. We've been given every spiritual blessing in Christ. We lack nothing! If we could truly comprehend all that's ours in Christ, we'd realize how high our position really is--just how RICH we really are!

    The rich struggle because material wealth lures us to focus on things. Wealthy people tend to regard what we have as though it were of eternal significance. The rich had better realize that wealth is temporary! If we place our confidence in our possessions, when the pressure rises, we could lose everything. Both rich and poor alike have a basis for rejoicing in what God has given us. People who set their hearts on money are equally disappointed, whether they get it, or whether they don't.

    In 1923, a group of the world's most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Collectively, these men controlled more wealth than the entire United States treasury! Newspapers printed their success stories and urged young people to follow their example.

    Twenty-seven years later their lives were reviewed again:

         *    Charles Schwab, president of the largest independent steel company, lived on

                borrowed money the last five years of his life and died penniless.

         *    Arthur Cutten, the greatest wheat speculator, died abroad broke.

         *    Richard Whitney, President of the NYSE, was eventually released from SingSing

         *    Albert Fall, a cabinet-member, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.

         *    Jesse Livermore, the greatest Wall St. tycoon, committed suicide.

         *    Leon Fraser, president of the Bank of International Settlement, committed suicide.

         *    Ivar Krueger, head of the world's greatest monopoly, committed suicide.

    All these men learned how to make money, but not one of them learned how to live.

    In the light of this warning, James helps us to understand the true concept of exaltation. The biblical concept emphasizes repeatedly that God exalts the humble and humbles the proud. In contrast to that perspective, our human concept is seen in the way people react to wealth. People exalt the rich and humble the poor.

    In the midst of trials, when faced with the rising pressures of life, those pressures eliminate social distinctions based on riches, race, profession, or social class. The humble are elevated because they realize that God cares for them. Wealthy people, who are normally the proud ones in society, are humbled because God doesn't play favorites.

    Sooner or later we come to realize that riches and external appearances are temporary. Our beautiful external appearance dries up and fades away. It looks great; but it doesn't last! The answer for our trials isn't found in what we own. We can't depend on what we have-not our riches, nor our possessions, nor our circumstances. These things are all temporary; they soon pass away.

    They are like delicate flowers that the sun quickly withers. In Southern California, the most common types of grass are fine and delicate. A couple of times each year Santa Ana winds blow off the desert with a dry, blasting heat. When those winds persist, in a couple of days the tender, Southern California grass dries up, almost overnight. In the middle east, the scirocco winds do the same thing. That's what our wealth is like! It can dry up overnight!

    If our significance depends on our possessions, when the pressure rises, we could be left with nothing! If our significance is based on who we are in Christ--on what God has done for us--then we are truly rich. No one can take that kind of wealth away from us!

    The last part of verse 11 adds one final thought to this discussion of wealth. People whose lives are characterized by a focus on their wealth aren't the godly people. They are the people who ultimately fade away. They will be destroyed.

    If our contentment depends on our things, one tragedy can take it all! If our contentment depends on our relationship with God, we'll never lose it!

    We may not stand to lose everything because of our faith in Christ, but we may face the pressure of a financial crisis. How will we handle the pressure? Do we struggle to make ends meet, and feel guilty because we don't earn enough money? Do we struggle with self-pity, with complaining, with envy towards those who have more than we do? Is our significance derived from what we own? Or, is our significance derived from who we are? We can trust God in the dark, when we face the financial crises of life also!

 



7.    THE PRINCIPLE OF ULTIMATE REWARD    1:12


    People with a living faith endure pressure because we understand God's promise. God has promised abundant life to those who trust Him. We can be content because we are confident of the ultimate reward. We look beyond the temporary--beyond the rewards this life offers, that will pass away.

    People with a living faith remain faithful, pass the test and, in the end, receive the crown of life. This crown isn't the royal crown of a king. It's the crown of victory given as a prize for the  winner of a race. It's a victory wreath. Our greatest reward, our "crown," will be life--eternal life in the end, and abundant life--life which is really worth living--now.

    Peter, like James, places great emphasis on the value of enduring the affliction now in order that, when the time of suffering is over, we might enjoy the rich rewards of living in His glory (1 Pet. 1:6-7, 13; 5:10). Growth in holiness--the growth that comes under pressure--leads to future glory with Christ.

    Andrew Marr tells a story that is frequently repeated, about a woman who wanted to understand better the biblical teaching about God's work of refining, so she visited a silversmith. She was considering Malachi 3:3: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

    She asked the silversmith, "Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?"

    "Yes, I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace," he responded, "for if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." She saw at once the beauty of the figure. Christ is in control of the furnace and watches over the process.

    As she was leaving the shop, the silversmith added one further thought, "I only know when the process of purifying is complete, when I see my own image reflected in the silver." When Christ sees His image reflected in His people, His purifying work will be complete! That's why we can be content, even while surrounded by hard times and trials.

    Pliny, the Roman governor in Asia Minor during the second century, wrote to Trajan the Emperor, for advice about how to deal with Christians. He had a problem with one of them. So he decided to threaten him: "I will banish thee," he said.

    "Thou canst not," was the reply. "For all the world is my father's house."

    "Then I will slay thee," said the governor.

    "Thou canst not, for my life is hid with Christ in God," the Christian responded."

    "I will take away thy possessions," continued Pliny."

    "Thou canst not, for my treasure is in heaven," the faithful witness continued.

    "I shall drive thee away from man and thou shalt have no friend left," was the final threat.

    "Thou canst not, for I have an unseen Friend, from Whom thou art not able to separate

         me."

    What could a poor governor, armed with only the powers of life and death, torture and stake, do with people like that?

    So then, how should we react to the hard times, when the pressure rises?

    Swindoll has affirmed: "If we really possess genuine faith, it will not snap when it is stretched to the breaking point. Our faith has elasticity because it is rooted in an unchanging, completely trustworthy God." Living faith has the strength to endure the pressure, to stand firm during the hard times!


When people of faith face the pressure of life:

    1.    We can still have joy-even under pressure!   1:2

    2.    We don't focus on our problems, but on God's purpose   1:3-4

    3.    We can endure the pressure, to see God's work completed in us   1:4

    4.    We can ask God for discernment to know how to respond   1:5

    5.    We can trust God for the solution to our problems.   1:6-8

    6.    Our joy doesn't depend on what we own, but on our relationship with God.   1:9-11

    7.    We can be content because we enjoy abundant life now, and eternal life hereafter.  1:12

 

    Persevering is worth the effort because the crown of life is worth more than escaping the pressure. George Stulac suggests an appropriate series of questions we ought to ask ourselves:

    When a Christian's spouse is unfaithful and abandons the marriage, is Christ still worth

        obeying?

    When our financial security is threatened or wrecked, when our investments tank, is

        Christ still worth trusting?

    When our physical health is broken, is Christ still worth worshiping?

    When a family member is tragically killed, is Christ still worth serving?

    When our actions are misunderstood, or we're slandered, is Christ still worth following

        faithfully?

    Even if we lose everything else we own, is Christ still worthy of our praise?

    YES!!

    Persevering is worth the effort because the crown of life is worth more than escaping the pressure. Therefore, we can still consider it all a cause for JOY! When the pressure rises, we can still trust God in the dark!