Faith and Wisdom

² My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, ³ for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. ⁴ Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all. ⁶ But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. ^7-8 If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.

Poverty and Riches

⁹ Those Christians who are poor must be glad when God lifts them up, ¹⁰ and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant. ¹¹ The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be destroyed while they go about their business.

Testing and Tempting

¹² Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³ If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, “This temptation comes from God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. ¹⁵ Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my dear friends! ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. ¹⁸ By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures. (GNT)

Summary

Be happy when a test comes in life, as it is an opportunity for you to increase your faith. If you are unsure about what to do, ask God for help, and He will freely give you wisdom. Any doubt in your heart will cause uncertainty, and nothing will come from that.

God is not the one tempting you, it is the evil of the world. So, be grateful when passing each test, as it shows the endurance of your faith. And be grateful when you are humbled when you are rich, as the rich will be destroyed.

Reflection

I like this passage because it talks about discipline and faith; we need to be disciplined in our trust in God, never doubting Him, and understand that He is the one who saves us, not tempts us. The reminder that God will always be there, ready to bestow wisdom on us when needed, is a comforting message; all we need to do is follow His word, remaining humble and faithful.

Read the rest of the chapter: James 1:19-27