The practical James had not suggested that the Christian walk will be a bed of roses. It was going to be filled with trials, or challenges, of various kinds. This was especially true for the first readers of his time because the book of James was written during a time of great persecution in the early church.

The word trial, peirasmos means to be put to a test with the attempt to learn the nature or character of something. The goal of a test is to make clear of the identity of the subject and he who is tested should emerge stronger and purer from the testing. The idea of a trial is not that of a temptation, or seduction into sin and failure, but of strengthening and purifying. God tested Abraham, when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1). God left the gentiles in the promised land so that Israel was tested by God in their struggles against the people who were already there in the promised land (Judges 2:22, 3:1,3:4).

The test is reckoned to a young bald eagle who is ready to take flight for the first time. When it is time for the young to fly, the mother eagle might stop her feed for a short period so that the young will be forced to leave the nest to look for food. The young might be nudged by the mother eagle to test its wings at the edge of the nest, until it is ready to spread its wings to test flight. It was an inevitable process of growth for the young eagle to grow in maturity.

Here, James encouraged the early Christians to count it all joy, when met with trials of various kinds because the ultimate aim of the trial is for the maturity of our faith. Just like an athlete who undergoes tough training in preparation for competition, he welcomes a heavier course of training incrementally, not because he enjoys the pain, but because he understands that the training will push him to bring out the best of his capacity. In the same way, trials help us to stretch our faith muscles. We can read about spiritual giants of the past and make theories of spiritual maturity, but it is in the season of difficulties when we truly make clear of our understanding and allegiance toward our maker.

It is also all joy because often in our weaknesses, we humble ourselves and let God take the driver seat. In the surrender of our lordship to Christ, we experience providence as He works in our lives. Every time we take the step of faith to trust God in various kinds of trials, we grow in our understanding of how GREAT God is! My dear brothers and sisters, that is the journey of sanctification. When we first accept Jesus as our personal saviour, we have only just started on the journey of faith. Through the different trials of faith, we surrender more and more of ourselves, in different areas and degree. We become filled with greater joy as we become more like Christ and our hearts, minds and will are more aligned to God’s own desire. 

Dear brothers and sisters, I do not profess to understand any of the pains or troubles you might be facing today, but one thing I am sure, Christ is good enough for us and His strength is made perfect in these days of our trials. When the baby eagle attempts to take flight from the edge of the nest, the mother eagle is often nearby, ready to catch hold of its child if it fails. Similarly, God does not fail. Be sure that He will catch us in our failure. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds that we may become perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing.