“Faith That Works: Pressure Cooker Living”
James 1:1-12
Pressure cookers are wonderful. They are manufactured to help bring food to a proper tenderness and fitness. It’s an amazing process in which the pressure inside the cooker is intense – so much so that if the cook is not careful, the pressure will be released in the wrong way and there will be an explosion. In fact, I well remember trying to clean a messy kitchen ceiling one day when the top blew off in just such a manner!
I’ve also cleaned up tougher messes when pressures in someone’s life led to an explosion. How do you handle the pressures of life? How can we make sure the pressure cooker of life does not cause us to explode? James begins his practical letter by addressing this very issue.
He begins by stating that THERE IS A PRODUCTION UNDERWAY (2-4).
In verse 2, he jumps right into the issue by stating, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” Whenever you face trials of many kinds; whenever. Not if, but whenever. SUFFERING IS NOT AN ELECTIVE OR CHOICE. Peter said the very same thing (1Pt. 4:12): “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” To be alive is to undergo trials and suffering.
So he said we ‘face’ trials. James uses the same word Luke used in sharing Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan who “fell” among thieves. The word ‘face’ means to 'fall into', to encounter, to come across along the way; it means to be attacked and ambushed by trials, to face situations and circumstances that threaten to rob us and beat us down. The 'TRIALS' COME FROM OUTSIDE OF US AND THEIR ARRIVAL IS NOT UNDER OUR CONTROL.
And there are 'many kinds' of trials. The trials that attack and ambush us are diverse and various. Trials can be losses - financial, physical, or of loved ones; they can be a love rejected; they can involve abuse, bullying, ridicule – anything that causes pain, suffering, or discomfort. As you reflect upon your life, what are some of the trials you’ve faced, or perhaps are even facing now? What pressure are you under?
James understood that since we will suffer, OUR ATTITUDE IS IMPORTANT. James was writing to Jewish Christians who had been persecuted, who were suffering for their faith, and had been driven from their homes, separated from their possessions, and slandered for believing in the name of Jesus. His first admonition was to consider it all joy. Our outlook determines our outcome – our attitude determines our action. So he gave us proper attitude: consider it pure joy. “Consider” is a financial term which means to count or evaluate. James is saying we are to EVALUATE THE TRIALS OF LIFE IN LIGHT OF WHAT GOD IS DOING FOR US. Our values determine our evaluations. Job (23:10) said, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Job was willing to trust that God was at work. Heb. 12:2 refers to Jesus trials and suffering: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame…” Jesus knew God knew best so endured the trial of the cross. James recognized trials as a place to experience “God with us.”
William Cowper, a gifted saint, lived a life dogged by trials and sufferings that led to many periods of prolonged depression and perhaps even some insanity. Yet he was able to write numerous poems, one of which is the wonderful hymn, “God moves in a Mysterious Way.” Tradition says he wrote it some months after failing a suicide attempt.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
Cowper evaluated his difficult trials in light of what God was doing.
But let’s be clear here. James was not commanding that we take great joy that the job we wanted which was given to someone else (someone we’re sure is less qualified than us), or that the neighbor child was killed in an accident, or that your best friend’s spouse is adulterous. Rather, James says, “Consider it pure joy,” which means to make a deliberate and careful decision to experience joy even in times of trouble by focusing on the work of God.
When we do we discover that GOD IS PRODUCING SOMETHING IN US. (3) “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops…” The verb develop conveys the meaning to work something out completely. Paul uses the same verb in his exhortation to the Philippians: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). The trials we endure do not come by chance. Everything comes by the hand of God. As we confess in the Heidelberg Catechism (#27) “All things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand.” This belief is what enabled Paul to call trials in this life “slight momentary afflictions” (2 Cor. 4:17).
And, James states, what is being developed is PERSEVERANCE, OR IT CAN BE TRANSLATED PATIENCE. Perseverance means to hang on and hang in there; patience comes from Latin words patior which means ‘I suffer’ and sensio which means ‘with sense’ Put perseverance and patience together and we get James’ meaning: We can endure – hang on and hang in – because our suffering is given meaning by God. Some even translate the words “Let patience have her perfect work”. Let God finish his work in us.
Here’s the bottom line. GOD CAN'T BUILD OUR CHARACTER WITHOUT OUR WILLINGNESS. As David prayed in Ps. 138:8, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.” Lord, finish your work! Paul also prayed similarly. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ ” (2 Cor. 12:8–9). The term perfect is the same word James uses for perseverance and patience. God's goal for us is maturity and completeness. The end product is what matters. The more tests we pass, the tougher we become. A good football team does not practice by blocking pillows. It goes against unbreakable, immoveable dummies.
A poet has summarized pressure cooker living this way:
When God wants to drill a man And thrill a man And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him, And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him To try His splendor out—
God knows what He’s about!
How’s your perseverance and patience? What is God working in you? What weakness needs strengthening? What strength needs challenging? What attitude needs changing?
James knew that grasping all this while in the midst of trials is difficult. And indeed we often do not understand and have trouble with our attitude. So he also wrote that THERE’S PROCESS INVOLVED (5-8). Verse 5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” We need wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. James had learned from Jesus. He knew about the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew Jesus’ strength and wisdom came from spent SEEKING HIS FATHER’S WILL.
Our encouragement comes from the fact that the original phrase reads literally, “let him ask the constantly giving God.” God is always trying to give to us; it’s up to us to receive and use what He is giving. Warren Wiersbe shared a wonderful story of a gifted secretary he once had. (1) She was going through some very difficult trials. She had suffered a stroke, her husband had gone blind, and then had to be taken to the hospital they were sure he was going to die. Warren saw her one Sunday and said he was praying for her. She asked, “What are you asking God to do.” He responded, “I’m asking God to help and strengthen you.” She responded, “I appreciate that. But pray about one more thing. Pray that I’ll have the wisdom not to waste all of this!” That’s seeking the Father’s will.
In verse 6-8 James even tells us the attitude in which to ask. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” ASK IN FAITH; BELIEVE AND DO NOT DOUBT. BE UTTERLY ABANDONED TO WILL OF GOD. Ask only in the interest of being faithful to God. If we are not fully on board we are like a toy boat bouncing around on the waves in Lake Michigan, at mercy of winds of our circumstances. Believing, faith-filled prayer is the only recourse and resource. Only through believing, faith-filled prayer can we avoid wasting our trials.
And notice that in pressure cooker living the need for wisdom is universal because TRIALS AND PERSEVERANCE ARE NON-DISCRIMINATORY. In verses 9-11 we learn that trials level the playing field. The poor must let God have His way and rejoice in spiritual riches that cannot be taken away; and the rich must let God have His even though He might sometime bring them low, to remind them that riches in Christ are the only ones that cannot be taken away. For both the poor and rich, true richness is found in Christ.
And James ends this section with the good news that should motivate each of us to persevere. THERE’S A PRIZE TO CLAIM (12). “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” For those who persevere there is THE BLESSING OF A CROWN. In James’ day, pottery that survived the pressure cooker furnace and came out complete and perfect according to the master’s design, received a seal. The crown promised for letting God complete His work in our trials is like a seal that is THE SIGN OF GOD’S APPROVAL. It’s the symbol of His words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Is at any wonder Paul could write (Rom. 8:18), “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” The glory to be revealed in us – we will be complete, perfect, radiating God’s glory.
So there is a way to endure the pressure cooker without exploding, and be brought to proper fitness. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” May our prayer be like that of a wise person who wrote:
“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey…
I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things…
I asked for riches that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise…
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God…
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things…
I got nothing I asked for – but everything I had hoped for,
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
(1) Warren Wiersbe, ‘Be Mature’, Victor Books,© 1978 by SP Publications, Inc., p. 29
