Why Do People Still Suffer?

James 1:3-11

One day there was a tough old farmer who was out walking. He was on a narrow path when he met a man who didn't like him. One of these men would have to step aside to allow the other to pass. The man came charging ahead saying, "I never make way for fools." To which the farmer quickly stepped aside saying, "I always do."

One of the most common questions I hear asked on the internet is, ‘if God is real why do people still have to suffer?’ While the world takes pity on itself and acts like the victims, the Bible shows us how Christians can turn a person from being a victim into someone who is a victor. And that’s what James is going to share with us today. No matter what were dealing with, whether it is trials on the outside or temptations on the inside. James is going to tell us that through faith in God and Jesus Christ we can experience victory.

But for Christians to turn ‘tears of despair into tears of joy’ there are three things we need to obey. And the 1 st one is found in James 1:2 " Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." Now notice that James doesn't say "if" but "when". In other words you can just count on it, Christians must expect trials.
Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, “I have told you this so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be courageous-I have overcome the world!" You see loved ones, some trials come simply because we are human, and this would be things like sickness, accidents, disappointments, and death. But other trials come because we are Christians. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
Paul also tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
And so, because Satan fights us, and the world opposes us, we can expect trials. But how are we to respond to these trials? James says, "Count it all joy!" Remember in Acts 5 when the apostles were pulled in to stand before the Council, after being flogged, the Bible says in Acts 5:41 “They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name.”
Let me share a poem with you which I think will help us get the point.

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.

And, look what James says next in James 1:3 "For you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure." James says if Christians have the right knowledge concerning the value of trials it makes it possible to have a joyful attitude. In other words, when we finally understand that trials test our faith, then we can know that the testing of our faith actually brings the best out in us.

A severe rash prompted a man from a rural area to come to town to be examined by a doctor. After the usual history-taking followed by a series of test, the physician advised the patient that he would have to get rid of the dog that was obviously causing the allergic reaction. As the man was preparing to leave the office, the doctor asked him out of curiosity if he planned to sell the animal or give it away. "Neither one," the patient replied.
"I’m going to get me one of them second opinions I been reading about. It’s a lot easier to find a doctor than a good bird dog."
Doctors can give prescriptions and treatment plans, but it is up to the patient to take the prescription and carry out the treatment plan.

In 1 Peter 1:7 we can read the following thought, “So that the genuineness of your faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when it is tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Any athlete will tell you that you cannot expect to win anything if you don’t train, but the more you train the stronger you get.

The 2nd point that James is telling us today is that we can have joy in our trials because we know that testing works for us, not against us.

When our faith is tested it produces patience. Romans 5:3+4 “Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope”. In the Bible "Patience" is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. The Greek word for patience means the ability to exhibit steadfastness and constancy in the face of the most daunting difficulty.

In other words, Christians need courage and perseverance in the face of suffering. Christians need to keep on keeping on...  even when life if getting rough, even when our circumstances are really difficult.
And make no mistake about Christian that kind of perseverance can come only through experiencing trials. And when Christians finally accept and understand what trials can accomplish in our lives, it’s then we can have a joyful attitude toward our trials. And please don’t think, ‘well that’s easy for James to say.’ We need to remember what James himself went through. Before James was killed for being a Christian he experienced sorrow.
Remember that James was one of the main leaders of the Christians in Jerusalem who continually faced persecution from those outside the Church.

James also learned that difficulties can produce patience. He never tells us to pretend that a trial is nonexistent. Instead, he wants us to recognize and rejoice that any problem can be an occasion for God to work in and through us in a way that He otherwise wouldn’t.

This is what the Bible calls a "testing of our faith"; it calls us to believe in the goodness of God, and to trust that He is not only willing but able to accomplish His purposes, no matter what befalls us. Any difficulty, whether great or small, is an occasion for joy, but only when we remind ourselves of the nature of the God who loves us. But for us to really benefit from our trials, we need to understand James’ next point in James 1:4 "And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing."

To truly turn our tears of despair into tears of joy, we need to let "patience" do its work. We often want to get our trials or difficulties over with quickly, don’t we? But there are times when the best thing for us to do is to bear up under the trial patiently.

And so instead of grumbling and complaining, we should patiently endure the trial, doing good despite of the trial. Now remember that James is writing to a bunch of Christians who really need to grow up spiritually. And what he is saying here is that when patience has had an opportunity to work, it produces "maturity."
When James uses the word perfect he doesn’t mean sinlessness, but "completeness, wholeness, maturity, and commitment."
Webster’s Dictionary tells me that - Commit means to entrust, to give charge, to perform, to pledge.
In my search for the definition of Commit I actually looked at one dictionary which did not even have the word commit in it. I guess they were not committed to commitment.
And if we as Christians want to run the race well spiritually speaking, we need to develop patience and commitment. And that is only going to happen when we train spiritually. In other words we can only grow into spiritual maturity if we allow ourselves to face trails which test our faith. And everyone here knows that letting patience have its perfect work is not easy. If anything, it requires wisdom which enables us to see the value of our trials.

Our 3rd point is found in James 1:5-8 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways."

James says if we lack wisdom; ask for it from God because He has promised to give it generously. And please don’t think that God is going to rebuke us for making such a request, even Solomon's request for wisdom was well-pleasing to God as you can read in 1 Kings 3:7-12. But what exactly is this "wisdom"? Because we need to be careful to distinguish "wisdom" from "knowledge."

Knowledge involves information, facts, etc
where as, wisdom is the ability or insight to properly use those facts quickly and in the right way. Knowledge comes only through His Word and we need to carefully study it if we want to know the Will of God. However, the wisdom to properly use His Word can be received through prayer. A proper prayer is a prayer asked in faith and with no doubt, otherwise, the prayer will not be answered by God.
And this according to James is the way that we can turn ‘our tears of despair into tears of joy.’ It’s having the knowledge and viewpoint that difficulties can accomplish a lot of good for a Christian. It’s being patient whilst enduring those difficulties to accomplish its work. And as we go through difficult times, its using the wisdom God gives us in answer to prayer to help us put it all together. And when we finally understand these things, it’s then that even trials can be seen as a source of joy for the Christian.

Solomon writes in Proverbs 30:7-9 “I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God”. Solomon tells us that when we are poor we may be tempted to curse God. Which is exactly what Job's wife wanted her husband to do, when they had lost everything Job 2:9 “His wife said to him, "You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you curse God and die?"

And the problem with being wealthy is that we may be tempted to forget God. In Deuteronomy 8:10-14 before God gave the Israelites the Promised Land He warned Israel that they might forget God because of their wealth. And what happened?

Hosea 13:5+6 “I took care of you in a dry, desert land. But when you entered the good land, you became full and satisfied, and then you grew proud and forgot me.”

So, here in James he’s going to share with us reasons to be joyous whether we’re poor or rich. James 1:9 “Those Christians who are poor must be glad when God lifts them up”. James says if we are "poor", then we can rejoice that we have been "lifted up."

Then in James 2:5 he says “Listen, my dear friends! God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which he promised to those who love him.”
And so what James is telling us here is that even if you are poor, you can still be "spiritually rich" and on an equal par with all other Christians.

Revelation 2:8+9 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again. I know your troubles; I know that you are poor---but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan!” Now not only can the poor rejoice because God has lifted them up but if you are "rich", then you too can rejoice because you have been "humbled." Now how does God humble the rich?

James 1:10+11 tells us, “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. 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.” In other words the riches which the wealthy have are only temporary.

1 Timothy 6:17 “Tell those who are rich in the present world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Now not only are riches temporary they are also unable to redeem our souls. Psalm 49:6-9 “By evil people who trust in their riches and boast of their great wealth. We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives, because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay would never be enough to keep us from the grave, to let us live forever.”

I don’t care how rich you are, you cannot buy your way into heaven. May our God bless us all as we allow Him to turn ‘our tears of despair into tears of joy.’
Let me leave you with the inspired words of a man who knew exactly what we’re talking about today. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13 “I am not saying this because I am in any need, for I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in. I know how to be humble, and I know how to prosper. In each and every situation I have learned the secret of being full and of going hungry, of having too much and of having too little. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles.”

INVITATION

 

 

Sermon Contributor: Mike Glover