learningtosmile.

james, jesus' half brother, wrote a letter to twelve christian tribes who were scattered among the nations (vs. 1). the idea is that they were facing serious oppression and they were in dire need of some good old fashioned encouragement. james serves them a tall glass of this is how it is, saying to these poor and persecuted peoples that they should consider it pure joy when they face hardships (vs.2). while reading his letter, i'm sure this is the first of many times the tribes thought "but james, that's awfully silly." these people had been evicted from their hometowns, and through that process, all their dignity and possessions had been taken from them. silly indeed. and so it would be, if we quit right there. that's a very unsettling place to quit reading, so we choose to go on...

we ought to rejoice during these trials because we can't lose! and one more thing: we're being tested on things we haven't learned yet! wat a lame reason, right? sounds like the first day of school, where the teachers hand out those tests with instructions to "do your best." and you look at the first question and wonder if you're even in the right class. in this sense, mental maturity would never be achieved, but that's exactly how spiritual maturity works. later on in the chapter, james points out that god will never tempt us to do evil, but he certainly tests us to be faithful. these tests produce perseverance that is designed to bring us to maturity and completeness (vs. 3,4). we ought to face these trials of many kinds because god sees in us areas which need work. and that's fantastic for us because it's so easy to overlook our own impurities: sometimes it takes an outsider's perspective to keep us in check. the important thing to recognize here is that god brings us to our knees with the intention of perseverance being an active transition, not a time to passively endure the pain. when god gives you a bandage, wrap that sucker up!

james continues with this theme of being active in our own times of growth, noting that many times we lack the wisdom necessary to interpret wat god is teaching us (vs. 5). we freak out at the first sight of blood, and lose all and any composure we may have had at the time. god has allowed us to scrape up our knees, he has supplied the temporary bandages, and now he is giving us a phone to call for help. he wants us to give him a ring! if we lack anything, we should ask him for it! so wat's the catch? wat does the fine print say? well, there's no catch in the midst of his grace. we sure don't deserve this grace, this second chance at a second chance. "but the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair."

god extends his gift of grace to all, and james points out the danger of not accepting the gift: james tells us to send our pleas to the god who gives generously to all without finding fault (vs.5). but--that's how james starts the next sentence--but when we ask, we must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (vs. 6). "but james, doubt is everywhere. how can god hold that against us?" first of all, matthew 8:26. jesus says that he'll take care of the waves, as long as we don't become the waves. all too appropriate. secondly, james is talking about a very specific kind of doubt: he continues, telling us that the waves of the sea should not expect to receive anything from the lord because they are double-minded and unstable in all they do (vs. 7,8). he uses the term "double-minded" to describe the character of those who doubt. this term means uncertain and divided in interest, and is in direct contrast with "faith" from verse 3. he is referring to people who are uncertain about whether or not they're actually on board with the whole jesus thing: the kind of mental division that determines our eternal salvation or condemnation, not the day to day worries that we all face. for that, jesus says to simply look to birds of the air. 

on that note, both types of doubt bring up an interesting question: think of all the times you've asked god for something. maybe it was physical healing for a family member, or winning lottery tickets, or saving from an addiction. when you asked, wat did you expect to happen? did you really think god could actually cure the cancer? that he could somehow manipulate outcome of the power balls? that he could physically stop the urge to watch pornography? god is certainly able and willing, but how many of us truly, truly believe in a god that's big enough to do supernatural things that we can't explain? for those who lean on the lord, let's break this useless habit of using prayer as a tool for personal comfort: let's step up, put on the armor of god, and be the most ba prayer warriors this world has ever seen.

this post leaves a lot of questions unanswered, so if you feel mentally unresolved, check out the rest of james' letter. we ended on james 1:8, but there's a whole lot more where that came from.   also, these 12 tribes were not the first to experience relocation problems: in the bc days, god spoke through jeremiah to the exiled people of jerusalem. here's a snapshot of god's promise to those who experienced such oppression from jeremiah 29:

this is wat the lord says: “when seventy years are completed for babylon, i will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. for i know the plans i have for you,” declares the lord, “plans to prosperyou and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and i will listen to you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. i will be found by you,” declares the lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. i will gather you from all the nations and places where i have banished you,” declares the lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which i carried you into exile.”

we're in good hands, people: let's start living like it! :]

[proverbs 4:20-27]