“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3)  

According to the dictionary, a test is a procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something; a trial. Testing, although often unpleasant, is an important step to moving ahead in something. According to the passage above, testing your faith produces perseverance. It keeps you from sliding backward and helps you persevere, especially in the face of trials.

Considering testing pure joy

Testing is rarely a pleasant experience, but you have to look beyond it to the positive results it achieves. The promise in the above passage is about being able to see the positive side of testing, which is achieving the quality of perseverance, which is not failing in faith. And that is something to be very joyful about.

Therefore

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) 

“so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1 Peter 1:7)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

What God did for us through Jesus

This wonderful promise, quoted by Peter, is from Isaiah 53, and the entire chapter below tells the wonderful story of redemption described by Isaiah hundreds of years before it happened.

It’s about the coming Messiah, Jesus

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

He bore our suffering and was pierced for our transgressions  

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

We had a sin problem only God could solve (see John 3:16)

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord make his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

Therefore

“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53 NIV)

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isa. 40:31)

Renewed strength and much more!

According to the above passage, those who place their Hope in the LORD will experience many wonderful benefits: they will have renewed strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not be faint. Why is this so?

Hope is a powerful part of faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

Therefore

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9 ESV)

The Spirit helps us

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Rom. 8:26 ESV)

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:17-20 ESV)

Therefore

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10)

“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. (Psalms 37:23-24)

Definition of delight: high degree of pleasure or enjoyment, source of happiness; brings joy and great satisfaction.

When delighting in worldly things

Those who delight in wealth, status, material possessions, and other temporary things of this world, are never satisfied. They never truly get what they want, and the reason they are always wanting more. This is the lesson King Solomon learned in his pursuit of earthly treasure: “Everything is meaningless!” (Eccles. 1:2). On the other hand, delighting in the Lord is true treasure indeed: “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6).

When delighting in the Lord

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2 ESV)

He prospers

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:3 ESV)

Not so the wicked

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1:4-6 ESV)

Therefore

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

“Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!” (Psalm 118:33-40 ESV)

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” (2 Cor. 1:4 NLT)

None of us are exempt from suffering, loneliness, discouragement, or criticism. Jesus suffered these things, too.

God is good and doesn’t cause evil, but He will use whatever happens to teach us to trust him, and to draw us closer to other believers, and to show us how to help others.

Therefore

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19 ESV)

“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:8-9 NLT)

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 ESV)

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18 ESV)

Rescue: to help someone or something out of a dangerous, harmful, or unpleasant situation. — to be rescued, saved, redeemed, reclaimed, recovered, salvaged, retrieved, restored, reconditioned, rehabilitated, and rehabbed.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and rescues us

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 19:11-15)

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Eze. 34:11-12 ESV)

Therefore

“…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,” (2 Peter 2:9 ESV)

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.” (Psalm 37:39 ESV)

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Acts 2/21 ESV)

“I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.” (Psalm 17:6 ESV)

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Gal. 1:3-5 ESV)

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17)

His beneficiaries

The term heirs of God emphasizes our relationship to God the Father. As His children, we have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade . . . kept in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4). The Greek term translated “heirs” in Rom. 8:17 refers to “those who receive their allotted possession by right of sonship.” In other words, because God has made us His children (see John 1:12), we have full rights to receive His inheritance. We are His beneficiaries (see Matt. 25:34; Gal. 3:29; Col. 1:12; 3:24).

That means

·      You are a treasured possession   

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.” (Exo. 19:5 NLT)

·      You will be a holy people to the Lord your God 

“He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” (Deut. 26:19 NIV)

·      You are eternal, like an angel

“And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36 NLT) 

·      You have a crown that will last forever

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Cor. 9:25 ESV)

·      You were chosen before the creation of the world

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Eph. 1:4 NIV)

“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24)

Like quicksand

How many times have you watched a movie where the hero is sucked down into a pit of quicksand? The harder they struggle the faster they sink. It’s a powerful picture of what it looks (and feels like) to be sinking (or caught) in a difficult situation or in some kind of sinful trap.

What to do

The ultimate answer is to immediately cry out to Jesus for help as Peter did when he found himself sinking.  

“But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matt. 14:30)

A despairing cry

In the old church hymn “Love Lifted Me”, written by James Rowe, he wrote:  “I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me - Now safe am I — Love lifted me, Love lifted me, When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.”

Therefore  

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6 ESV)

“Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.” (Psalm 69:14)