Count it all Joy... James 1:2-4

Ok, so I know that everyone and their brother likes to quote this verse at you when you are going through something rough. But as i was studying today, i saw somethings that i hadn't really noticed before and thought i would write them down. 

James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.


Now let me give you some definitions:

• Joy - cause or occasion for jubilation 
• Encounter - Peripipto in the Greek meaning to "fall into" 
• various - random 
• trials - enticement of sin or times of adversity 
• Endurance - deliberate purpose, steadfastness and constancy.

Basically this verse is saying to celebrate when you happen to fall in to rough spots. You can celebrate because you KNOW that as you pass this test your endurance or patience is getting stronger. You know what else patience is for... patience has a lot to do with faith. As soon as your patience runs out you are no longer walking in faith. Because faith WAITS confidently knowing that what God has promised he WILL DO! So if you don't have patience you cant have faith and without faith its impossible to please God! Summary: Patience --> Faith --> Pleasing God --> Happy God --> Happy (or Joyful) you! See it all makes sense... This is why we find Joy in trials. We also find joy in our trials because we KNOW that God has created a way out for us; but that is another day and another blog.

Those first couple verses are great and they make me want to stop and just praise Jesus for a while, but it was the last verse that i really began thinking about today. So verse 4 tells us to "let" endurance have its perfect work in us. I've always thought that this meant: "ok, I'll just trudge through this hard spot and passively "let" things "pass" and that is me practicing patience. But I realized my mistake when i look us the word "let" in the Greek....

• let - verb --> "echo" --> hold ones self to a thing, lay hold of, adhere to and cling to...

This is not the passive interpretation that i had envisioned. Actually it is quite the opposite.. Being a verb this word is an action word. If i remember correctly from my years of watching Grammar Rock: "VERB - that's whats happening". You have to cling to endurance; endurance is not passive at all. Think about when you are running: you are trying to set a new personal record or expand your distance. I can tell you from experience that is NOT PASSIVE. I have to FORCE my legs to keep moving, my lungs to keep breathing; let me tell you there is a LOT of positive self talk going on during that time of endurance to reach my goals. It's the same thing here, you have to cling to your endurance or it will slip away from you before you know it. 

So hold your self to endurance... In whatever you are going through, don't loose your deliberate purpose to steadfastly and constantly cling to God's promise of good. Because the one who calls you is faithful and HE WILL DO IT. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Extra bonus: you know why cultivating endurance cultivates perfection - perfection meaning without blemish or defect, free from sin! It because if you have the endurance, you have the patience to wait for the fulfillment of the promise of something better, better then the earthly temporary gratification that sin will give you.

Thoughts and responses are more than welcome...
-G