The First Epistle...The First Teaching

I think I would be safe in saying that the one thing that drives us to prayer more than any other reason is "trouble"...That which creates conflict and trials in our lives. Recently, during my prayer/study time, I was reading and meditating on a fabulous blog my daughter had written on how the Bible teaches we should respond to the trials of life, when the Father revealed to me an awesome nugget of interest which I have never heard taught before. So what I would like to do is reproduce her blog entry here (hopefully, with her approval) for you to consider, and then, at the end, lay out what the Lord showed me about the epistle and the base verses that my daughter references in her article.

Here, then, is her blog entry:

Last night I was reading an article about a creative hero of mine, the writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams. I have always admired his work -- but now I admire him for who he is behind the work. This is the passage in the article that has created a paradigm shift in me:

"Abrams has been able to survive the rigors of marathon writing and production schedules, while also packing school lunches and tucking his children into bed...by keeping things fun in a process of constant discovery. "Most of us are just trying not to die, but J.J. flourishes because it's always fun for him.'"

Fun?? Pressure and problems and writer's block can be FUN?? As I was noodling this incredibly foreign and unnatural sounding idea, a scripture popped in my head. I remembered it from James 1:2 as going something like: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face troubles of many kinds. That's a paraphrase, and I'll share some of my favorite translations of this scripture in a moment, but first I just have to say how convicted I felt about the article and then what I remembered of a scripture that I have obviously known for a very long time -- but have somehow forgotten, and worse -- completely ignored. When I face troubles and problems (especially in my work, but also with my health and in relationships) I have never found it fun or considered them joy! I have raged, freaked out, cussed, cried, melted under the pressure and even quit at times -- but I don't think I've ever thought of it as fun. And yet here's this guy in Hollywood living the scripture that I was supposed to know so well. That's when something changed in me -- what if I could live that way too?? Oh how I want to!

And so this morning, I went to my J.B. Phillips translation of the bible and read James 1:2-5:

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, do not resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise they have come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let this process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character and the right sort of independence." (Of course the terms "men" and "man" here is used in the human sense, not gender specific.)

Now, just as I was beginning to wonder how in the world I can take on such a monumental task of not resenting troubles, but treating them as friends, I saw that the scripture goes on with some advice on just that:

"And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem, he has only to ask God -- who gives generously to all men without making them feel foolish or guilty -- and he may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him."

WOW! What hope that gives me -- and what joy too. it almost makes me giggle at the thought -- I can have fun with problems. We all can! Here is the scripture in a few other translations...each one of them filling out the full picture to me of what is really being said:

The New Living Translation: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

The Message: "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it."

And finally, the one that popped in my head, the NIV translation: " Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 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."

And so, with God's help, I am going to embark on a new journey -- to stop resenting, being afraid of, getting angry at and resisting challenges, trials, troubles and problems -- and instead try to be welcoming, seeing them as a gift, a joy...and yes, even fun -- knowing that they will help to make me the best version of myself. It is a challenge, to be sure...but I'm starting to believe, it might just be a joy too:) (End of daughter's post...if you prefer to check out her blog site yourself, here's the link: joydelightsinjoy.blogspot.com)

Now, here is the amazing nugget that I believe the Lord was showing me about the Epistle of James and the wonderful teachings about conflicts, pure joy and asking for wisdom in chapter 1, verses 2 through 8:

Although the order of the presentation of the epistles in the New Testament of the Bible was certainly inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was certainly not based on the order in which they were written; in fact, several of the epistles were written before Paul's Book of Romans, and indeed, even before Luke's Book of Acts (which was actually written after Romans). So, guess which epistle is considered to be the earliest of all the New Testament writings...That's right the Book of James! Do you see what the significance of that fact is? It means that the very first teaching scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit after the death and resurrection of Christ was written by Jesus first brother, James (who did not initially believe in his Savior Brother), in James 1:2-8, which begins with the words, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance." I believe this emphasizes the importance, in God's view, of developing a strong and unwavering faith based on the joy of the Lord (that's the only "pure" joy). [In fact, the whole Book of James, is like a litany of the Fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..."Against such things there is no law." (Gal 6:22-23)] Given the Holy Spirit's priority for this teaching, we all would do well to embark on that new journey my daughter has embarked on.