Steadfast Faith

The book of James begins with James acknowledging that our faith will be tested. Oddly enough, he says this is a good thing—a joyful thing—to happen. Why? The tests reveal this truth about us: Do we believe what we say we believe? Testing is the only way to find out. St. Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” Perhaps the reward of the test is “the crown of life”¹ which is what God gives the steadfast folk. Steadfastness is the theme that begins and ends James’ letter. Tests check us for steadfastness, (1:3) but if we doubt or waver, (1:6) we will wander from the truth (5:19) and become steadfastless (not a real word). The verses between 1:3 and 5:19 comprise the entire book of James and address many of the events and circumstances in our lives that will test our faith and our ability to remain steadfast.

We will all wander from time to time, and our faith will be tested in most areas of our lives. James’ whole letter arms us with weapons that will protect us and help us become effective and authentic followers of Christ. For every negative situation that we encounter, James counters with a positive way to battle it.

It may not be an exhaustive list but it comes close. James’ audience was composed of small church groups throughout the surrounding world who were experiencing a variety of difficulties—from persecution to false teaching, from misunderstandings to different opinions rising from their own congregation. The ironic advice that James gives to the struggling believers is “consider it all joy!”² If James had been there in person listening to their woes and complaints, he might have responded with a smile, “Isn’t this great!?”

And so, when we find ourselves frustrated and confused, grumbling and stumbling, God’s Word to us is “Isn’t this great!?” Our problems often tempt us to wander from the truth that we know. Instead, James says we are to let the trials run their course, and then our response is to dig in and stand firm in our faith. And if there is something that we encounter that causes uncertainty in us, all we need to do is ask God for wisdom and he will give “generously to all without reproach.”³ What does that mean? We have access to the wisdom of God, who will not make us feel small because we did not know the answer to our problem—even the simple silly ones—no lecture, no rolling of the eyes from God. Imagine being the prodigal son coming home shamefully to face his father “but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”⁴ God’s response to the son who had wandered was, “Isn’t this great!?”

With that perspective, there is no reason not to be excited and hopeful about life, troubled and complicated though it may be. Because of God’s great love for us to grow into mature and established followers, he will test out our faith in every big and every small area. Hopefully, we will learn to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in [our] work for the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, [our] labor is not in vain.”⁵ But steadfastness is not easy. Note the hard words Paul uses—like the unending sound of “always” and the physical, mental, and emotional “work” and “labor” that lay before us and the possibility of our efforts appearing ineffective and “vain.” It will be challenging to remain steadfast during those trials.

Isn’t that great?!

¹James 1:12   ²James 1:3   ³James 1:5   ⁴Luke 15:20   ⁵1 Corinthians 15:58