Trusting God in the midst of our earthly circumstances..

This week we have been looking at the opening section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible that was written by the half brother of Jesus called the book of James. And it is in this opening section of this letter that we have discovered the timeless truth that the faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation.

We talked about the reality that the faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation because trusting God in the midst of temptation results in us becoming more like Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are to respond to temptation with an attitude of gratitude and gladness because our response to temptation reveals the genuineness of our trust in Jesus. And as followers of Jesus, we are to respond to temptation with an attitude of gratitude and gladness because our response to temptation produces spiritual maturity.

In addition, we saw James reveal for us the reality that trusting God in the midst of temptation requires wisdom. God desires that we ask Him for wisdom when we lack wisdom in dealing with the temptations we face because God desires to give us that wisdom so that we would be able to bear up in the face of that temptation in a way that produces spiritual maturity.

However, as followers of Jesus we are to ask God for wisdom in how to respond to temptation with the right attitude; an attitude that trusts in God's ability to give us wisdom; an attitude that trusts that God desires to give us wisdom without reservation and without finding fault with our request; an attitude that desires to please God by trusting Him instead of desiring to please self by giving in to the temptation.

Today, we will see James turn to address a specific temptation that followers of Jesus face that requires trusting God in the midst of that temptation in James 1:9-11:

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off  and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

Here we see James address the issue of how we are to respond to our earthly circumstances. James states that the follower of Jesus of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position. But what does that mean? The phrase humble circumstances refers to a follower of Jesus who is of low social of economic status. Now the word glory here is to take pride in, or boast about something.

James point is that the follower of Jesus who find themselves on the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic ladder should take pride in their high status. Now if you find James statement confusing, just look at what James says next " and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation." I mean how is the rich man, how is the person who is on the highest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder supposed to take pride in their humiliation? How are the rich humiliated? What is James talking about here?

The answer to these questions comes with what James means when he uses the word humiliation, combined with the phrase "because like flowering grass he will pass away". The word humiliation here refers to an experience of a reversal of fortunes. If James was communicating this phrase in the language we use today, this phrase would sound something like this: “let the rich man boast of his downfall because like the flowering grass the rich man will eventually come to an end and no longer be here”.

James then hammers his point home in verse 11 with a word picture that we are all too familiar with here in the desert: “For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.” Just like the flowers that spring up in the desert in the spring only to fade away in the blazing heat and wind of the summer a few weeks later, the wealth of a rich man is only temporary.

And it is here that we see James reveal for us the reality that a faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation because trusting God in the midst of temptation recognizes the temporary nature of our earthly circumstances. As followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that the person of low status is to take pride in their high status in Heaven. As followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that the wealthy person is to recognize the reversal of fortune that they will eventually experience as they will eventually come to an end here on earth, and that they are fading away while in the midst of their work here on earth.

And because of that reality, we are to bear up against the temptation to place our confident trust in our earthly circumstances instead of in Jesus in the midst of the temptations that we face here on earth. James then concludes his opening section of his letter in James 1:12:

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Here we see James reveal for us the reality that trusting God in the midst of temptation results in the reward of eternal life. For the one who perseveres, for the one who maintains their trust in God in the midst of temptation, the result is experiencing God’s favor in their lives. For the one who perseveres, for the one who maintains their trust in God in the midst of temptation, their trust in the midst of temptation provides the proof of their genuine relationship with Jesus. And for the one who perseveres, for the one who maintains their trust in God in the midst of temptation, their trust in the midst of temptation reveals their love for Jesus and results in the prize of eternal life with Jesus.

Because the timeless reality is that the faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation. The faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation because trusting God in the midst of temptation results in us becoming more like Jesus. The faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation because trusting God in the midst of temptation requires wisdom. The faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation trusting God in the midst of temptation recognizes the temporary nature of our earthly circumstances. And the faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation because trusting God in the midst of temptation results in the reward of eternal life.

So here is a question to consider: How are you responding to the temptations that you face as a result of the circumstances around you? Who or what are you trusting in the midst of the temptations you are facing? And what does your response to temptation reveal about what is going on inside you?

Because character is like toothpaste; you never really know what is inside until it is squeezed. And while we are not necessarily responsible for the circumstances we face, we are responsible for our response to those circumstances.

Are you responding to the temptations that you face as the result of being involved in various circumstances with an attitude of gratitude and gladness because of what those temptations will reveal about you and what you trust in? Are you responding to the temptations that you face as the result of being involved in various circumstances with an attitude of gratitude and gladness because of what those temptations will do to grow and mature you spiritually?

Or are you responding to the temptations that you face as the result of being involved in various circumstances by saying things like "I know that Bible says, but" or "I know what would Jesus do, but I don't want to do what would Jesus do". 

Because the timeless reality is that the faith that works trusts God in the midst of temptation.