Joy in Tribulation?

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:1-4

Wow, if there was ever an unlikely target audience to receive James’s letter, it was the exact demographic of brothers and sisters to whom this little epistle was written! Persecuted because they were Jews (by almost everyone always), persecuted by the Jews (because they were Christians) and persecuted by their neighbors (because they were strangers in strange lands), these believers were in a lot of pain. But surprisingly, James writes, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” This short verse tells us so much about how we are to respond to conflict and trouble. “All joy” means pure unadulterated joy! “When you fall” is from the same word used when Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan who fell among thieves. In other words, “when,” it is inevitable that we will. And like the victim in that story, through no fault of our own! And “various trials,” well, that means every imaginable trial…medical, financial, relational, spiritual…you name it! And why should we do this…because the Holy Spirit then tells them (and us) that we can know “…that the testing of your [our] faith produces patience.” And if we “let patience have its perfect work, that you [we]may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” If we allow God to guide us, He will use every difficulty we encounter to further mature us as His beloved disciples and make us more like Christ!

Church Conflict

So, what does this have to do with church conflict? Everything! When is the last time you considered your personal or your church’s conflict as “pure joy?” However, this is just the first step. All of us—and all churches—have conflict. But how do we respond when it comes? Can we, as James (or more importantly) as our Lord, commands?