James 1:12 is the beatitude of this little book. I call it the beatitude of James because it is akin to the beatitudes of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Through Matthew 5:3-12, Jesus issued nine “Blessed are” statements. Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those that wouldn’t appear very blessed. Those statements are much like what James does here. He used the same exact word for blessed that Jesus did which speaks of being supremely blessed or happy.

We must ask the question, “Why is this person blessed?” James offers a couple of reasons why the person who endures is blessed