‘Let Faith Do Its Work’ (A Study of James 1:1-12)

The Battle between What We Want and What Our Faith Wants

At the start of his Epistle, James, the brother of Jesus, shared his curious idea about faith. A war is going on within us between what we want and what our faith wants. And so, he said, we have to let faith do its work.

As individuals, we want things that get in the way of what our faith wants. We want convenience, familiarity, and the good life—but these things are at war with faith . . . and faith has its own goal.

Religious leaders (like me) have reinforced ideas of the good life instead of what Paul may have called “the good warfare.” We have called people to the Savior—and that’s great—but not the struggle. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29; all Scripture verses are from the English Standard Version).

Let’s look more closely at the blessed struggle to which we’ve been invited.

Be Steadfast in Your Situation

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings” (James 1:1).

This letter was written during a time of persecution that included Stephen’s sermon and stoning, Saul’s rise (Acts 6:6–8:4), and Nero’s sadistic killing of Christians. This is the situation to which James called his readers to “count it all joy” (James 1:2).

Acts 8:4 noted, “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” In other words, the persecution did not minimize the mission!

God’s people were scattered, but they were not lost.

Today, a global pandemic, an economic crisis, and civil unrest have made many people feel scattered as well, but let me assure you, you are not lost! God knows exactly where you are, and he has a similar message for you.

James delivered this message to those who were scattered: “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” (James 1:3-4).

God’s desire is not to make us happy; rather, God’s desire is to make us holy. God gives us this gift of faith, but faith has a purpose, and we have to let that gift do its work.

Regardless of our situation, we have two things to do—count and ask.

And we have two things to be—tested and blessed.

Count and Ask

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).

This initial encouragement is cognitive. It means to calculate or reckon . . . to think about trials in God’s way rather than in our own, more natural way. Through James, God offered us the mind of Christ! This is the kind of mind that would leave Heaven and come to earth. In other words, there must be holy thinking before we proceed to holy speaking and holy acting. The primary obstacle to holiness is our mind. Some of the older sisters in the church used to call it “that stinking thinking.”

We don’t count it all joy. Instead, we grumble on Facebook and Instagram. Our tests today don’t seem to produce growth; instead, they typically produce groaning and complaining that actually minimize our maturity.

As a church, we’ve got to change our thinking. Trials are not to be seen as troubles, but as tests. The purpose of a test is to see if a student can pass.

Child of God, you’re going to be OK. The global pandemic is a test for growth. The economic crisis is a test for growth. The civil unrest is a test for growth. This is a time for us to grow individually and as the church. Growth in these circumstances may have little appeal to you; and that’s why we also need to ask.

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.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits (James 1:5-11).

James provided two stipulations to help us understand how to ask. We ask without doubting, and we ask from the reality of our situation. This is not the wisdom to get activities done. This is the wisdom to let faith do her work. To receive this kind of wisdom, as children of God, we must be prudent in how we ask.

First, we must ask from what faith wants, not from what we want. Doubting, in this context, is when what we want disagrees with what faith wants. Doubt (diakrinomenos), in this context, means wavering and vacillating. We dare not come to God in an unsure and unsteady way, as if we are tossed about by the wind like a sea wave. Our God finds no joy in the “double-minded” (dipsychos), which in this passage literally means “two souled.” That person is unstable in all they do; they are like a staggering spiritual drunk.

One soul wants to make you happy, the other wants to make you holy.

Next, we must ask from the reality of our current situation. The reality of those who had been scattered was that some were poor and some were rich. James was not saying the poor should desire to remain poor or that the rich should desire to give up being rich. Rather, he meant each situation creates the posture of prayer . . . or asking. (By the way, if you have 20 shirts in your closet and yet think you have nothing to wear, you are the rich in this scenario.)

The poor should boast because their situation in life is a constant trial from which God will create growth. They should pray out of that situation.

The rich should boast in their humiliation by being generous—by walking away from constant convenience and learning to depend on God.

The best situations are not always what seem best for us. The easy life creates flowers that wither. God endeavors to create silver that lasts forever.

Be Tested and Blessed

We need to be tested.

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. . . . Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him (James 1:3, 12).

Silversmiths test silver to purify it. James was using a word common to that profession. Silversmiths would ignite the fire, and when the silver reached a certain temperature, the impurities would rise to the top. The silversmith would repeat this process—this testing—until he could see his reflection in the silver, and then he would know it was ready.

God follows a similar process with us, his children. He places us in the fire and observes whether we’re ready. He turns up the heat, testing us again and again. When he looks and sees his own image, he knows we are ready! Tested became synonymous with proven. The silversmith and God both desire to see their reflection . . . to see purity. God doesn’t aim for the low goal of making us happy; rather, God wants to make us holy.

We also want to be blessed.

Look again at verse 12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

James borrowed from the structure of Jesus’ Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11) and used the word blessed (translated as happy in several Bible versions) to get you where God wants you to be, which is holy. The blessing comes through the testing.

It now should be clear why we can count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds. The comfortable life is not blessed. The convenient life is not blessed. The easy life is not blessed. No, it’s the holy life that’s blessed! We just need to let it do its work! Faith has its own goal!

There is a war within us between what we want and what our faith wants. That’s why James said, “Let it do its work.”God’s desire is not to make us happy, but to make us holy. Oh, and by the way, holy people are usually happier people . . . because faith is always fruitful.