Refiner – Part 1 – The Fire
Passage:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:2-8)
- the first step of walking through trials is to stop looking at them the way that we as people are often inclined to look at them. and start looking at them from God’s perspective.
And really, that’s what this passage in James 1 is all about – take a look at your text.
- The first thing that James is going to talk to us about – is that when we enter the fire – we need to reframe the fire.
Reframe the Fire:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (2-3)
He says to count it joy when – not if – when you meet trials of various kinds.
- he says its not an IF we will go through various trials – it is a when we go through various trials –
another word for various here – could be ALL kinds
- now when we face these things – he says – “consider it joy”
Now I think we are honest, when we hear that, “count it all joy”, that almost feels impossible to us, doesn’t it?
- he’s not saying that the trial itself is joyful – let’s be honest it never is It’s really important here to say that Scripture isn’t that there’s anything joyful about the trial itself.
See the joy that James is talking about does not come from the circumstances of the trial.
- The joy comes from the fact that our trials don’t have the last word. The joy comes from the fact that the worst thing isn’t the last thing.
James isn’t saying you have to pretend the pain feels good, he is saying that you can trust that God is doing something good.
- In fact – look at what he says here – James gives us the reason to have joy in trials
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
- Man I love this. When we ask “why should I consider it joy?”
God wants us to have an eternal perspective on temporary situations.
But we don’t only need to reframe the fire – we must
Remain in the Refiner’s Fire:
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. (4)
But James says unless we submit to the process – nothing is going to change. He says – we have to LET steadfastness have its effect.
- Another word for steadfastness here is endurance.
endurance means that we have to stay when we wanna quit.
Submit to the process – trust the fact that the God who has brought you to it – is the same God that wants to sanctify you through it.
James says here – that if you want to be mature and complete – not only are trials necessary – but endurance in the midst of those trials are necessary.
- you can’t take shortcuts in the process.
Take the Next Step:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
- James says that as we go through the refiner’s fire – we don’t have to go through it alone – we have someone guiding us through it.
- He says – if you lack wisdom – if you don’t know what to do – to come to him – and ask God because he gives it out liberally.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (5-8)
- He’s not saying you have to work your doubts out before you come to him
He is saying when we come to God for wisdom in our trials we need to leave behind our double-mindedness.