Steadfast When Tempted, James 1:12–18

This week the focus is on God’s goodness in trials. In life’s journey through the “dark forests”, we are not confronted with lions, tigers, and bears BUT trials, testings and temptations. And OH MY, what a precious gift from God we have in the midst of these difficulties … Jesus and the promise of eternal life! We can be confident that our good God gives only good gifts! He is never changing and we are HIS, through His word-work in our lives. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11) Jesus is God’s supreme, best, “good and perfect” gift, sent from heaven for us, full of grace and truth! He is our ultimate example of steadfastness.

Steadfast Through Trials: James 1:1–11

STEADFAST JOY IN TRIALS (vv.2–4) Jesus is faithful and steadfast when we walk through the storms of life. When we go through trials, we discover what kind of faith we really have. Trials reveal our faith, and they also strengthen our faith and Christ-like character.

STEADFAST FAITH IN PRAYER FOR WISDOM (5–8) We need God’s wisdom to understand God’s purpose and see His perspective on trials so that we might remain steadfast and mature to completeness. ASK for his wisdom! He does not find fault with us or demean us. What good news to have a God who does not give in that way! He gives kindly and generously, without reserve or hesitation, knowing we desperately need Him. He delights to supply us with all we need.

STEADFAST IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES (9–11) Only with God’s wisdom can we truly have his perspective on the momentary nature of riches and store up for ourselves real treasure in heaven (Mark 10:21). We can’t “count it all joy” when we encounter trials apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When a trial comes, is your first inclination to pray for wisdom to view trials in such a way? How many times have we read this admonition but failed to pray? Remember that he is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46) Run to Jesus in prayer!

James Helps Us See What Faith Looks Like in Action

Proverbs 31: An Industrious Woman Who Fears the Lord

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and uniquely feminine displays of wisdom come from fearing the Lord.

What do we do when we compare our lives with the Proverbs 31 wife and become discouraged because we come up sorely lacking? Where do we turn with our discouragement and guilt?

This is where the good news of the Gospel comes in. God created women to be industrious nurturers because they fear the Lord. But we are all daughters of Eve, who each ask, “Did God really say ...?” and turn away from His good design to eat the deadly fruit. We all fall short in so many ways.

If your heart, like mine, is convicted by this good passage, then I encourage you to call out to Jesus, the source of all Wisdom. Confess your sins and shortcomings. Cry out to him for forgiveness and mercy. Ask him to give you his wisdom and goodness and joy in serving others. Ask him to help you to fear the Lord and to become truly wise.

Elbow Grease: Wise Work

Work is a gift from God, invested in faith to bear enduring fruit. Although the world tells us that work itself is our problem, we hear in the Word that sin is our problem, and the work of Christ has settled that for us. Now we may labor in the strength that God supplies and work in wisdom, the way Proverbs exhorts us.

Made for Friendship

We need purposeful friendships for our continued faithfulness to the gospel. God matures us as believers through friendship with one another—through consistent fellowship and through giving and receiving mutual counsel with candor and wise care. And while we will never be nor will we ever have the perfect friend, we can have confidence that God is at work in us and in our friendships.

Watch What You Say!

We all struggle to consistently use our mouths in service to God! May God to pour out fresh grace on us as we pause to evaluate the heart behind our words. Remember, you will sin, but in Jesus, there is grace for every failure. Remember, it is growth and not perfection that is the distinguishing feature of the Christian life. Remember to go to war with those sins of the heart, knowing that God himself will help you. Take advantage of all the help he offers—his word, prayer, the counsel of other Christians, the conviction and guiding of the Holy Spirit, his promise to provide an escape in every temptation, and the promised joy and satisfaction you will receive in doing his will. Seek the same joy that Jesus himself experienced when he spoke the words of life to the woman at the well and then to the Samaritan townspeople who listened to her testimony. May all our other appetites diminish this week as we increasingly feast on the good fruit of our own lips.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. —Proverbs 18:21.

Money and Wealth in Proverbs

In God’s economy, there are two ways of handling money: the way of wisdom that leads to eternal life, and the way of foolishness, which leads to eternal destruction. Mercifully, our failure to live wisely can point us to Jesus, the Perfect Covenant Keeper and the fulfillment of God’s perfect wisdom, who became poor for our sake, that we might be made spiritually rich. We are loved with a very great love!

Keep Your Heart: Wise Emotions & Desires

Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to “Keep our hearts with all vigilance.” I hope our study this week allows you to listen to God’s wise and practical words for keeping our hearts. If we pour out our hearts to God and submit to his will, we can make our emotions and desires into strategic servants for holy living and a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The Book of Proverbs is our training ground for making wise decisions in our daily lives, grounded in the fear of the Lord. An invitation to grow in this ancient, God-endorsed wisdom is extended to any who humble themselves and ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).

But on our own we can’t live skillfully and successfully as God has wired the world. The path of folly–choosing our desires over God’s commands–is too enticing in our own strength. But hallelujah, what a gracious gift given to those who are in Christ! In Jesus, we have all the treasures of wisdom (Colossians 2:2-3) and his Spirit working in us to grow in wisdom from above (James 3:17).