Trials are painful. There is nothing spiritual about grinning and bearing it. Notice, James does not say that the trial itself is "all joy" (
v. 2). He would be denying the reality of emotional and physical distress. By nature a trial is painful. The word "trial" does not carry with it the concept of a cheerful experience. Rather, his encouragement is to "consider it joy ... when we face ... trials." It is the facing, or the awareness of a trial that is in view. When you see one coming, rejoice! We can delight as we consider what the overall experience will yield, and yet we should not deny the pain one may experience undergoing the trial.
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A number of years ago, a member of our church placed an article on my desk chronicling the extraordinary ordeal of a local family. Both the young mother and the father carried an extremely rare genetic disorder known as Zellweger's Syndrome. The syndrome results in sever birth defects of newborns. It significantly minimizes their quality of life, as well as their life expectancy. The chances of an individual having the gene resulting in the disorder are one in 160. The odds of two individuals meeting and having a child with the disorder are around one in 100,000.
To this family's dismay, they beat these dreadful odds and gave birth to a child possessing the syndrome. The child eventually died. After the loss of their baby, the couple took certain necessary medical steps to prevent the same outcome in additional children. These procedures pushed the odds of a recurrence of this disorder to one in two hundred thousand. Astonishingly, at the time the article was written, despite the measures taken to prevent it, they were pregnant with their second child bearing the rare malady.
It was nearly more than the family could take. Although Christians, they struggled to understand why God would allow such exquisite pain, not once, but twice! Remarkably, facing the inevitable reality ahead the mother said, "If God would ask me to suffer this significantly, I think He has something significant he wants to do with it through me, if only in my heart." Incredible! How could she say that?
Let's face it, most of us will never undergo a trial that severe. God reserves trials of this magnitude for those who can undergo them and still bring Him glory. "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him" (
Job 13:15). Nonetheless, her statement raises a relevant question in light of own experiences. In your severest trial, while in the midst of your greatest pain, would you have the strength to utter the words of this mother? Could you look up from your ash heap and see God's hand? Could you struggle with why and still trust that God has a purpose in it all? Could you consider it all joy? That's the heart of James' first challenge.