We might think that we cannot relate to what it must have been like for Israel to be in exile. The reality is that James greets the church as a group of people who are in exile just like Israel. We might wonder why we would press forward in this life considering that we are just in exile. We need to listen to James who is laying out for us that this life probably will not meet our expectations because it is not supposed to meet our expectations. So, why follow our God then if this life will not give us all that we think it should?