I Luuuuv Trouble!

“Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face many trials.”

These are the words of one of Jesus’ brothers. His name was James. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, James thought that his older brother Jesus was nuts. In fact, there is one instance that was recorded where James, his mother and other siblings went to get Jesus and bring Him home because He was an embarrassment to the family. Later however, the risen Jesus appeared to James and the rest, as they say, is history.

What an incredible change took place in this man’s personality. After Jesus had proven to James and hundreds of others that He really had risen from the dead, James stopped being ashamed of Jesus. He went from being a sceptic to telling us, based on his experience in serving Jesus, that we can consider it pure joy when we are persecuted and run into many trials because of our faith in our risen Lord and Saviour. The fact that Jesus had risen from the dead and that He had appeared to His brother James made such an impression upon him, that James not only became a leader in the early Church, he also died for his belief that Jesus had risen from the dead.

So, what would could James mean by considering it joyful to endure difficulties? Was he sadistic, masochistic, or just plain weird? Or is there something about having a relationship with the risen Jesus that changes the very nature of sorrow and trouble?

The message of allowing Jesus to change the nature of suffering, weaves its way throughout the New Testament. From Jesus personal teaching to what his followers themselves have told us, Jesus changes suffering from something to be avoided at all cost, to something through which Jesus can change us into men and women of courage. Travelling upon the Christian road takes away the ability of pain to hurt us. In one place, the apostle Paul describes our trials as, “light and momentary troubles . . .” This is coming from a man who had been repeatedly beaten. He’d been jailed. He’d received the “forty lashes.” He’d gone hungry. He been shipwrecked. He’d been abandoned by “friends.” Ultimately he was martyred for his faith in the risen Jesus. Hmm - Light and momentary troubles.

And then Paul adds, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness. For Christ’s sake I DELIGHT in my infirmities, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

As Paul and all other believers have found, God’s strength is sufficient for us. His power is made manifest in our weakness. The Christian walk involves a letting go of control. It’s quitting the fight. Instead of being an active participant in the solving of our problems, journeying with Jesus means stepping into the position of observer. No longer controlling the direction of our lives but merely obeying, in faith the direction that God takes you, creates peace and joy. And that is the secret to personal strength in the Lord. Obedience in faith that is built upon years of trusting, testing, and verifying brings us to a point where we realise that ‘Ya, He really does take care of me.’

After awhile, difficulties are no longer something to avoid with dread. Instead, they become challenges that are made all the more exciting because, regardless of the degree of hardship, victory over our trials is assured.