“Wisdom in Trials”
Scripture: James 1:1-5
Preacher: Rev. Mark Bartsch Kobe Union Church
January 12, 2025
When I first started drinking coffee, I loaded it up with milk and sugar—the sweeter and milder, the better. It was the only way I could take it. Now I only put milk in when it is poor-quality coffee, like instant coffee. When you have good coffee and it’s all about the beans, you don’t want to dilute the flavor by putting anything else in because you want to taste the quality.
The book of James is like a strong cup of black coffee. It’s bold, unfiltered, and sometimes deeply challenging. It feels like a blend of the Sermon on the Mount and the Book of Proverbs had a baby, delivered directly to a church that is facing persecution and trials.
As we dive into James, I’m going to try not to sweeten it up or dilute its message. Together, let’s savor its full flavor and allow it to transform us.
Over the next six weeks, we will be looking at the book of James. I think it will benefit all of us as we examine this book that Jesus’ brother (half-brother) wrote. Can you imagine growing up in the same household as Jesus? And guess what? James did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah for 33 years of Jesus’ life.
His name in Hebrew is Yaakov (Jacob), but we call him by the Greek pronunciation, which is James. His nickname (and some nicknames are more flattering than others) was James the Just. As church records show, he treated all equally rich and poor alike. He became the leader of the church in Jerusalem for 20 years after Peter, led the church at first but felt called to go into the mission field, passed the leadership to him. James served during one of the most tumultuous periods in the early church, including a great famine between Jesus’ death and resurrection and the destruction (as Jesus foretold in Matthew 24) of the temple in 70 A.D.
As I said, James was not a follower of his half-brother, along with his other brothers and sisters. In Mark 3, when Jesus and His disciples went home, His family (we assume Joseph had passed away at this point)—His brothers and sisters—said about Jesus, “He is out of His mind.” Others said, and the family did not support Jesus, calling Him “possessed by evil spirits.” So, if you have been insulted and rejected, know that Jesus’ own family did that to Him. John 7:5 tells us very clearly, “For not even His brothers believed in Him.”
(I might exclude this on Sunday) Here’s a major question, and forgive me if I speculate a bit: Were James and his brothers and sisters older or younger than Jesus? I grew up believing that Jesus was the oldest, but if you look at encounters between Jesus and His brothers, it doesn’t culturally fit the way younger children treat their older brother. The Eastern Orthodox believe Joseph was much older than Mary and had a wife and children (James was one of them). It’s speculation, but it fits with the Old Testament model of blended families and how Jesus’ brothers and sisters treated Him. It also explains why the last time we hear of Joseph is when Jesus is twelve years old at the temple. I’m not pushing the idea but find it interesting. Forgive me for my speculation; we won’t know for sure until we’re on the other side.
We know for certain that His brothers and sisters did not believe in Jesus during His earthly ministry. But after the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared to James specifically. 1 Corinthians 15:7 says, “Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” It is most likely during this time that James became a believer and committed his life to follow Jesus as the Messiah.
That’s enough of a history lesson and speculation about James. Now, we need to start looking at the meat.
We don’t have to go far before we learn one very important fact about James. He introduces himself as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The word James uses for servant is doulos (δοῦλος), and “servant” is not a very good translation. It should be “bondservant.” Typically, a servant in those days would have a time limit on their service. But a bondservant was a person who, after his service had ended, would ask his master to become a bondservant, meaning a servant until death and even after death. The bond of love went two ways.
This is likely the relationship the centurion had with his servant when he asked Jesus to heal his servant (Matt. 8). A bondservant willingly gave their life, love, and service to their master’s household OUT OF LOVE FOR THEM. That’s how James feels about his relationship with Jesus. That is the expectation that James has for the church.
James, the “bondservant” of Jesus, writes to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, or those who have been scattered. Many of us here today know what it is like to be scattered. I wasn’t born in Japan. I never even thought about Japan until I met a cute girl 37 years ago. But I find myself, for now, planted here. And if I’ve heard the question once, I’ve heard it a hundred times: “Why are you here?” “Why do you live in Japan?” I don’t have a good answer except that God planted me here for this time, and I believe He has planted you here too. God has thrown His seed (me and you), and He asks us, with His help, to grow in our love for him and share that love with others.
Because of the intense persecution of the early church (they were literally stoning believers for putting their faith in Jesus) and the famine in the region after Jesus’ death, Messianic Jews fled Jerusalem, spreading the good news to the gentile world. Amazing historical records show a severe drought followed Jesus’ death. (Let’s be honest: the land must have been in revolt when it felt the blood of the Savior drop on its soil.) We know the ground cried out to the Lord when Cain spilled Abel’s blood (Gen 4).
Pure Joy
After the greeting, James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of various kinds.”
What? That’s crazy talk. No one wants to face trials, and no one wants those they love to face them either but do you know what is worse than facing trials. It is never growing. Just before his death as he broke bread for the last time with his disciples Jesus says to Peter, “Satan asked Jesus to sift you”. If I was Peter I would have said, “You said, “No” right?” Jesus does not say, “No” but allows Satan to sift Peter. Jesus tells Peter that he will face Satan’s but while he is, Jesus will be praying for him. Nothing is as powerful as our Lord’s prayers. He prays that as Peter goes through the trial he will grow and be the person Jesus knows he will become. “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” What an amazing statement that is. Jesus knows Peter will fall, but He also knows Peter will rise again stronger and strong enough in the Lord for himself and to strengthen his brothers.
Looking at Trials by Naturally or Spiritually
It is naturally absurd to like painful experiences. We do not naturally consider trials, difficulties, and problems as joy. So, we can only understand verse 2 in a supernatural or spiritual context. Because if you look at your painful experiences only from the lens of the natural world, you think things suck. They suck when you look at them spiritually too, but you see a purpose behind them that they are not pointless. But if you, like the Apostle Paul, in 2 Cor 12:7-9, he sees the thorn sent from Satan not from a natural perspective but a spiritual perspective. So, he can say,
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 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.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Paul sees not only where the attack comes from (Satan). Not all trials are evil attacks some of them are self- inflicted but God can use those too if you allow him. Paul gets a glimpse of how God will use the attack (stop him from being conceited) and finally that he can see God more clearly because of the thorn. All because Paul does not see from a natural lens only but sees through a spiritual lens.
But here is the church's problem: too many of us see our trials, difficulties, and problems only in a natural light, and we refuse to look at them from a spiritual perspective. We do not see, or will not see, our trials like James and Paul call us to see the world. It is hard. It took me twenty to thirty years to see what God wanted to teach me in my learning disability. And yet he did. I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that I may be open to Christ’s power.
In the famous hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” (one of my favorites) written by H.G. Spafford, we see a man who knew what it meant to go through trials. He lost his fortune in the Great Chicago Fires and kept his faith. In 1873, he sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him to help a famous preacher with a revival meeting in the UK. The boat that his wife and children were on collided with another ship in the ocean and it sank. In the accident, he lost his four daughters. Not one but all of them. His wife was rescued by clinging to wreckage at sea and after she was rescued, she sent him a telegraph simply saying, “Saved all alone.” He rushed to be with his wife in the UK, and when his ship was traveling close to the place where all his children were lost, God gave him—and through him, us—this song:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.
H.G. Spafford, of course, mourned the loss of his children but also saw how the Lord would sustain him and his wife through such a loss. The story is a lot like the story of Job. Whatever. Whatever my lot God has taught us to say It is well. I still have some growing to do before I can know the Lord as well as Spafford.
And that is what James is telling us when he says, “Consider it pure joy.” It’s not about enjoying the trial itself; no sane person would. Instead, it’s about the fruit that will come from it. The testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James goes on to say that perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. God’s goal for us is not our comfort but our character. That is a hard lesson for a lot of believers to learn. God wants us to grow into a fuller relationship with Christ. And that growth often comes not in times of ease but in the storms of difficulty.
Ask for Wisdom
So what do we do when we face trials? James gives us the answer in 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.”
Wisdom is not just knowledge. It’s knowing how to apply God’s truth to our lives (Like Paul and HG Stafford did), especially in the face of trials. And the beautiful promise here is that God gives wisdom generously and without reproach. He doesn’t scold us for not knowing; instead, He delights in our dependence on Him.
When we go through trials, our natural tendency is to focus on the problem, to try to fix it ourselves, or to despair when we can’t. Then Satan does win. You go through the stuff and you get no payoff. But James tells us to turn our eyes to God and ask for His wisdom. He is the one who sees the end from the beginning.
Trials are not easy, but they are necessary. They are the furnace in which our faith is refined, our character is shaped, and our dependence on God is deepened. So when trials come—and they will—let’s not run from them or try to sugarcoat them. Instead, let’s face them with the wisdom and strength that comes from God, trusting that He is at work in us for our good and His glory.
How do we gain this wisdom in trials
1. Daily Decisions: Start each day by asking God for wisdom to make choices that honor Him. Martin Luther said that he prayed an hour a day but when he was busy he prayed for two hours
2. Conflict Resolution: Before addressing a conflict, pray for God’s guidance to speak with gentleness and respect.
3. Big Life Questions: If you’re facing a significant decision, spend time in Scripture and seek counsel from mature believers.
KUC let’s be a people who lean into God during our challenges, trusting that He is refining us to become mature and complete, lacking in nothing. And as we endure, let’s remember that our trials, though painful, are never wasted in God’s hands. So, as you face your own trials this week, may you seek His wisdom, trust His purposes, and rejoice in the knowledge that He is with you, and if we cling to Jesus he promises us just like he promised Peter that he would be with us and pray for us. Let’s pray.
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