Here are the scriptures referenced in today's post.
In the first part of James' letter to Israel, he talks about wisdom and joy. We sometimes make the mistake of using these words synonymously with knowledge and happiness, respectively. There is an important distinction between these sets of words.
James starts of by saying that we should consider trials of many kinds pure joy. That can be easier said than done, but the usage of Joy here is so important. Joy is the overarching contentment that we find in our lives and our eternal situations as we entrust God with the protection of our souls. Trials of many kinds, if we view them the right way, develop our perseverance and our ability to rely on God in any circumstance. The more we put into this "spiritual savings account" the easier it becomes to face anything because you've got the resources (perseverance of faith) to overcome. Happiness is an emotion. it comes and goes with each event and each day. We may not always be happy that we are going through tough times, but we need to be joyful that those tough times will develop our faith.
Some of this can be hard to implement. We know what the Bible says, but when faced with trials we are to be joyful? How? The answer is in verse 5 of this passage and in James' use of the word wisdom. Knowledge is great but if it is not used it becomes worthless trivia. To know what the Bible says about a topic is totally different than to do what the bible says about the same topic. While it is good to know that trials bring perseverance, they only develop it if you are persevering. The ability to view your trials through this lens takes wisdom that only comes from asking God.
The cliffs-notes version of this post is that spiritually mature Christians do not allow their moment-to-moment emotions trump their over-arching faith in the supremacy of God.
And the SAT version of this post is
Happiness : temporary : : Joy : permanent
Knowledge : trivial : : Wisdom : experiential
Have a joyful week!
Nick
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