Tested and True: James 1:1-18

Have you ever found yourself when faced with painful circumstances questioning why you are going through that particular trial. “You don’t have to scroll far on your phone to see it—headlines filled with disaster, layoffs, shootings, uncertainty. And every time, we’re left wondering: What’s next? What if it happens to me? I can only imagine the thought that went through your mind when the Tsunami warning came.. I had some of the same thoughts and prayed for the Lords mercy. Thank God that it wasn’t what it could have been. for me to see that on the news and to be far away from home… You feel helpless. i just had to trust in God. but its like that for so many people in so many situations.

these are normal feelings almost everybody experiences. Regardless of your upbringing or whether your religious or not pain reveals something about us as human beings.  It puts us to the test

Pain poses the question “do we truly know where our faith lies and who or what do we actually place our trust in. is it other people who make promises of great change? is it in our own abilities or chasing after wealth? is it in God who we profess to believe in?

James begins his letter with a surprising truth: trials aren’t a sign that God has abandoned us—they are where we often meet Him most clearly.” the hard times aren’t meant to break us but to build us.

James 1:2-8 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. 

1.Not if but When. Trials aren’t an exception for believers They are part of our journey of faith

Jesus never promised us that pain would go away in this life or that being his children would shelter us from difficulties.

Our faith tested and forged in the fires of adversity.  I don’t imagine I would be where I am today if I hadn’t had my faith tested . it is the choices that we make as we go through difficult times that determines the kind of person we are going to become.

The Christian is not called to escapism but realism. By realism I don’t mean being pessimistic about life but realizing pain is part of the process of producing the Character of Christ within us.

Jesus endured suffering in this world and when we endure suffering in this life and trust in God we become like him. We are transformed into his image. and reflect his glory.

2. God provides the wisdom we need to get through the hard times- if I could put what I have learned over the years about attaining God’s guidance into a process it might be something like this. Be Still, Be listening and Be open.

•  Be Still– Refocusing on the eternal in the midst of the temporary
• .
  • Psalm 37:7 (NLT) 
    Be still in the presence of the LORD,  
         and wait patiently for him to act.  
       Don’t worry about evil people who prosper  
         or fret about their wicked schemes.
  • The first thing we can do is to get in the right headspace. The temptation is to focus on our problems rather than God’s promises.
  • We must escape from the cycle of anxiety which goes something like this. We pray, but then we imagine what could go wrong, than we worry, than we pray again.
  • A truth I have to remind myself of often is that worry never made anything happen or not happen. its such a useless waste of my time.  kind of like endless notifications that draw you to check your phone and  its really nothing important or spending 15 minutes hear or there scrolling. you realize how much time we waste a day doing thats endless reels or tik tok videos. that the same effectiveness of worrying..
  • Why do we worry so much? why does it always seem to be our default thought process? i believe its because we naturally tend to depend on our own wisdom first. We trust in our own understanding of the situation which may come from our education or past experiences or something we googled recently. But the scriptures tells us this.
  • Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT) 
     Trust in the LORD with all your heart;  
         do not depend on your own understanding.  
       6 Seek his will in all you do,  
         and he will show you which path to take. 
  • Now, once we have taken the step to Be Still and to not only depend on our own understanding of the situation we are able to turn our attention toward God and seeking his wisdom and Be Listening for his answers. How do we do that?
• 2. Be Listening–
•  Have you ever been on a phone call and then suddenly you can’t hear the other person? or you only hear every other sentence. It’s frustrating when you don’t have good reception. the other person is hearing you but you can’t hear them. Sometimes that is the way it is with us and God we do all the talking but we can’t hear what he is saying.
  • in genesis 16 there is a story about a woman named hagar who was pregnant and alone and cast out of her home after being mistreated. as she was wandering in the desert feeling anxious and uncertain about her future the lord met her and spoke to her and gave her guidance.  she eventually gave birth to Ishmael whom many of the Arab tribes come from.  Sometimes we feel like we’re in one of life’s deserts, alone, fearful about the future but is often in those moments that God meets us.
  • When we quiet our hearts and minds we can hear him speak.
  • What does the voice of the Lord sound like? It is comforting, it is correcting, never condemning. it is scriptural. It is pushes you outside your comfort zone. Imagine a much older wiser version of you Someone who has all the knowledge of what will happen from the future speaking into your life. that’s the best way I could describe how he speaks to me.
  • To hear God we need to “Pray with an 
  • Expectation of Revelation 
  • and a heart Open to Obedience”
  • .
  • one time a friend of mine heard the Lord say get off at this freeway exit so he did. then he heard turn on this street and he did. then turn here and he did. and he ended up scaring away a group of men that were going to beat up this kid. Its not a rare thing. 
  • I have a friend who listens to God tell go to store to buy something and she will encounter someone that needs prayer and comfort. she just asks God all day where should I go and expects an answer.

hearing the voice of God is amazing and comforting but we also have to be open to obey what he is telling us.

• Be Open–
• to God Providing practical pathways through specific advice
  • to not leaning on what you experienced in the past.
  • God may want to do something new with you.
  • God made us to be adaptable to all kinds of circumstances.

“When the trial hits, a lot of voices will fight for your attention—your own fears, the world’s quick fixes, even the enemy’s lies. Being open to God’s wisdom is step one. Step two is choosing to be loyal to Him alone, refusing to let your faith be split between God and everything else.”

3. God calls us to a single-hearted devotion 

 –When we pray and ask for God’s intervention let’s believe he is going to come through with an answer of how to go forward, how to navigate this difficult time in our lives. Prayer is not a plan B or a last resort if worldly advice doesn’t help. He wants us to trust wholly in him. He rewards those who put their faith in him and give him credit when he comes through.

“Your trials aren’t random—they’re a place where God proves His faithfulness and builds yours.”