The book of James is about how to win at life. We win by walking in faith (rather than in our own strength) and through the wisdom of God (rather than of this world). The key to winning is overcoming the trials of life. This Yellow Balloons Series unpacks the message of the first chapter of James through seven devotionals that will allow you to discover the recipe for victory!
Grace School of Theology
Day 1
Scriptures: James 1:2-4, Matthew 16:24-25, 1 John 5:4-5
Ore to Gold
Helen Keller, both deaf and blind, once said, “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” It all depends on the perspective you choose to have.
While we are suffering, we feel uncomfortable. Often, the pain we endure does not allow us to see beyond the distress we experience. Putting things in perspective seems quite impossible. Yet, if we want to follow Jesus and be His disciples, denying ourselves and taking up our cross is mandatory. In Christ, what may seem to be a total defeat is a victory.
The worldly perspective on winning is clear. We measure winning by what we accumulate – fame, money, or followers. Our success is measured by the physical treasures we put in our storage sheds.
In contrast, the biblical view of winning is not about what we can accumulate but who we are. It is about character. We win life by being, not by getting. True victory is learning to encounter our trials with character.
Only by taking this view of success can we celebrate the struggle. Like ore refined by pressure, we become who we are by facing our trials with courage and a proper perspective. Coal is turned into diamonds by the stress put upon it. The same is true for us.
If we take the earthly view of success, it makes sense to avoid pain. What accumulation is there in suffering? What tangible prize do we get from our sorrow? In a strictly practical sense, suffering has no market value. It is a setback. Endurance is an obstacle to be diminished, rather than an opportunity to grow.
But in God’s economy, suffering is a path. Trials are a testing ground, an arena to develop and exercise our character.
James tells us to “consider it joy” when we encounter trials. James presents life as a championship match. It is an opportunity to walk with the Lord, overcome self-seeking, endure, and persevere when we encounter trials.
We are ore being refined into gold. We are not pirates gathering treasure. We are people becoming treasure – pursuing the character and perspective of God. The opportunity presented is for us to become complete; to be all God created us to be. Material wealth ends up in a landfill, but spiritual wealth is like enduring gold.
The book of James is about how to win at life. We win by walking in faith (rather than in our own strength) and through the wisdom of God (rather than of this world). The key to winning is overcoming the trials of life. This is one of the ingredients for the recipe for victory!
Day 2
Scriptures: James 1:2-4, James 1:9-12, 2 Timothy 4:7-8
All Circumstances Are Trials
When we think of the word “trial,” we often picture a specific type of circumstance – one that is hard, something we would not like to face, a negative thing we have to overcome. The word “trial” certainly has a negative connotation; nevertheless, James says all circumstances are trials.
Today’s passages from James refer to both the trial of want and the trial of plenty. We are familiar with the trial of want; the struggles with feeling like something is missing, the pain of loss, even the malaise of the mundane.
In the valleys or on the plain of life, it is crucial to see the circumstance as an opportunity to be faithful, depend on God, endure, and win the crown of life.
The mountaintops of life are traditionally viewed less like a trial and more like a triumph. We think that winning at life is ascending the mountains. But winning is about who we are, not where we are. Mountaintops have dangers of their own and trials to endure.
On the mountaintop, we must choose a different perspective. “This is only fleeting. It won’t last. Enjoy, but don’t depend on this. Depend on God.” Adopting such a perspective is not easy. Our senses tell us we are winning. We must have the eyes of faith to believe, “This is fleeting, do not trust it.” If we make an idol out of prosperous circumstances, we have lost our way just as effectively as if we have cowered under difficult circumstances.
All circumstances are trials. Tests. Championship games. Olympic trials. The valley, plain, and the mountaintop. Each has its struggle. Each is an opportunity to win gold. Life is not about avoiding one trial for the sake of the other. It is about navigating all trials through a godly perspective.
God’s perspective challenges us to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds. Why? Because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness and its full effect will make us perfect and complete in God, lacking nothing.
Are you currently on a valley, on the plain, or on a mountaintop? Are you facing trials these days? Consider it a joy! Your faith is being tested. Whether everything in life is going smoothly, or when all circumstances around you are saying that you are not enough, you need faith. Realize that you need to trust in God and in his love for you in every circumstance.
Day 3
Scriptures: James 1:12-14, James 4:7, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Philippians 4:8, Romans 8:5-6, Romans 8:15
Trial vs. Temptation
As we journey toward understanding what it takes to win at life, it is important to see what James says about the difference between a trial and a temptation. The clear difference is intent.
A trial is something you are meant to overcome, to succeed against. Temptation is something you are expected to fail in. The difference is in the intention of the source. A temptation is a lie to rebuke. A trial is a truth to navigate.
God allows trials. They give us an opportunity to choose faith and love over fear. Our acceptance in God’s eyes is unconditional. But there is more for us! We are promised a “crown of life,” the fruit of our love for him.
It is precisely for this reason that God allows trials. He wants us to succeed. He longs for us to succeed. We love to blame God, and call him out for “tempting” us. But only Satan tempts us, because Satan is the one who wants us to fail. We are dragged away by our own desires toward sin and temptation. It is not God’s fault. Our own lust tempts us, dragging us away and enticing us with things other than God.
Satan has his part to play, but sin is conceived when we choose our lust over God’s love. When lust is conceived, our unchecked sin can give birth to death. The Bible is very clear with regard to our thought life; it says that as a man “thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV). The battle takes place in our hearts and in our minds. We get to choose life or death; we choose whether we want to be carnally minded and reap death, or spiritually minded and reap life and peace.
The great Welsh preacher Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones said: “There is no grosser or greater misrepresentation of the Christian message than that which depicts it as offering a life of ease with no battle and struggle at all; sooner or later every believer discovers that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground.”
If winning at life is overcoming our trials, it is important to distinguish between trials and temptations. God is the Author of life. He is rooting for our success. Faithfulness through stewarding trials and rebuking temptations develops the image of God within us.
Are you facing a trial? Ask your Father to give you the strength to hold on to his promises in faith through the wisdom of God. Are you being tempted by Satan? Rebuke his lies, and he will flee from you! That is the recipe for victory!
Day 4
Scriptures: 1 Timothy 6:11-12, Ephesians 6:10-13, James 1:19-20
The Surprising Power of Listening
“The Christian life is not a playground, but a battlefield.” A preacher could not describe it better. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul encourages us to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) and to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). Furthermore, he advises us to “put on the whole armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
There is a war going on inside our hearts that continuously challenges us to choosewhether we will give control to our flesh or surrender to God’s will.
As James has already pointed out, temptation is not God’s fault. It is the responsibility of our lusts, the evil desires of our flesh. Although we are made in God’s image and have His Spirit dwelling in us, we are also cursed with a sin nature. That sin nature pits us not only against God, but against others. We want what they have. We desire to have power over them. We seek to control them.
Sin destroys relationships. It is the ultimate relationship killer. When we put our ego first, it stops us from understanding and truly listening to each other’s hearts. But God calls us to be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). We are called to listen to our brothers’ and sisters’ hearts in a quick manner.
To truly listen to another person, we must first set aside evil desires. We must set aside anger at not getting our own way and see what the other person sees. We must walk in their shoes and understand their perspective.
When we do this, we are exercising an incredibly important skill – we decide to set aside the flesh for the sake of the spirit. Listening to other people actually prepares our hearts to listen to God and to hear his Word and transplant that Word into our hearts.
God is the Author of the Word of life which has been planted within us. The only thing capable of suffocating its fruit is ME: my flesh, my lusts, and my narcissism. One of the fruits of God’s life in us is a surprise: learning to effectively listen to others.
Winning in God’s kingdom entails surrender. Surrender causes us to say, “Lord, thy will be done.” Surrender is trusting God and allowing Him to speak to us through his Word and our brothers and sisters. That is how you overcome the trials of life.
Day 5
Scriptures: John 1:1-5, Hebrews 4:12-16, James 1:21
A Transplant
Our right standing before God is the result of Jesus’ sacrifice. The only reason we can go boldly to the throne of grace in time of need (Hebrews 4:16) is because of him. Our relationship with God was made possible because of Jesus. The Bible also tells us that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1) and that the Word of God is living and powerful, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
God knows us very well, intimately; there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to his eyes, and one day, we will all give an account to him (Hebrews 4:13). For this reason, we cannot afford to go through life without examining ourselves or our thought life. Whatever we feed our minds, at some point, will give birth to an action.
David understood this well when he said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” (Psalm 139:23, ESV). Temptations don’t come from trials. Temptations come from within. James tells us that first, our lust is conceived within our hearts. Lust then gives birth to sin, and then, when sin is full-grown, it results in death (James 1:14–15). Separation. The most tragic separation takes place when we are separated from the life we could be living.
What is the solution? The solution does not lie in reforming our old selves. The cure comes from a transplant. As with any transplant, the first step is to put away the old. James tells us to put aside our inner wickedness. Move it out of the way. Render it inoperative. Tell our old man, our flesh, “No, thanks.” In its place, implant God’s Word – his perspective of our best interest and how we can win at life.
Just as a heart transplant saves the life of someone whose heart is failing, implanting the Word saves our lives. The Greek word translated “soul” is psuche. Living under the control of our dead self’s passions is like living as a zombie.
Transplanting God’s Word into our hearts frees us to become all we can be and to encounter every circumstance as champions who win life’s gold by living in godly wisdom. Listening to others trains us to listen to God. Listening to God gives us a life transplant. Feed your mind with God’s life-giving Word. Instead of giving birth to deathly deeds, you will become a doer of the Word of God!
Day 6
Scriptures: James 1:22-25, Romans 12:2, Matthew 22:37
Doers of the Word
To truly overcome trials (the Bible’s definition of success), we must align our thoughts, emotions, and actions with God’s Word. It is not enough to set aside the old self; we have to put on the new self. A transplant begins with removing the bad heart, but if it stopped there, what good would it do? We need a new heart, a new perspective, and a new way of doing things. We are only transformed if the change makes its way into our behavior.
James talks about a man who looks at himself in a mirror and then walks away, forgetting what he looks like. Here, the word translated “man” doesn’t mean “human.” It means “male.” Women are more focused, more intent when they look in the mirror. They don’t leave until they look exactly right. Men tend to do only the minimum.
James says we delude ourselves when we think we are growing in godliness but give our character only a passing consideration. For this reason, we must examine our hearts and minds daily and continuously. I know that it may seem like a lot, but not doing so is a risk we cannot afford.
In the book of Romans, Paul urges us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice; this is our true and proper worship (Romans 12:1). It fulfills the great and first commandment – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and not to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).
There are three things we can control: our actions, who we trust, and the perspective we take. Are we going to trust the world or the Lord? Will we adopt the world’s view that success is based on accumulation and earthly prestige? Or will we choose a correct perspective, and invest in something that brings peace and will last forever?
Choosing to trust God and adopting the right perspective about life lays the foundation for doing good deeds, for not only hearing the Word, but choosing to put it into action. The goal of a healthy inner life is to have it overflow into our actions.
Are you worshipping God in your thought life? Are your thoughts giving Him honor? Do you love God with every fiber of your being? Furthermore, who are you listening to? Are you conforming to your flesh, the devil, or the world? Are you being transformed by renewing your mind in the Word of God? The overflow of your thought life will be translated into actions.
Day 7
Scriptures: James 1:2-3, 2 Corinthians 12:9
The Enigma of Perseverance
We finish our series by returning to the beginning. The first chapter of James introduces an enigma. It states that when we encounter adverse circumstances, we must make the choice to view them as “pure joy.” The fact that we get to choose the perspective is a huge revelation. Besides, God will never ask us to do anything we are not capable of doing.
Moreover, through this first chapter of the book of James, we can clearly understand that difficulties are part of life. The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battlefield. As we have discovered, all circumstances are trials. Prosperity is perhaps the most difficult to endure, and endurance is a great benefit to us in life.
James 1:12 tells us that endurance is the means by which we gain the “victor’s crown of life.” Keep abiding, stay rooted in God’s love, love him when things are going well and when life is not going that well. This is the way to win; this is the victorious Christian life!
James does not pretend that this is easy. He acknowledges that we will need help, so he instructs us to ask for wisdom. How are we supposed to see life with the right perspective? James answers: Ask God, and he will reveal how.
When we struggle or face trials in life, we become aware of our weaknesses and our need to depend on the Lord. But this is okay: God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses. Just let God take over!
Interestingly, when we ask, we are instructed to do it with no doubt. If we believe that God will give us the right perspective, then we will gain it. But if we doubt, we are “double-minded.”
If we try to have the mind of God and the mind of the world, James tells us that we will be “tossed by the wind,” like a paper blowing in a gale, being swept along by surrounding circumstances. I do not know if you realize how profound and powerful this is. We have the capability, through our free will, to choose life or death. We get to choose who we get to trust – God, our flesh, the world, or the devil.
I do not know about you, but I choose life. I cannot rely on my feelings; they come as fast as they go away. I will not trust the world nor conform to it. Trusting the devil is out of the question. James’ final advice compels us to choose a godly perspective! If we ask, believing and not doubting, God will give us the wisdom to know his perfect will – this is the recipe for victory!