Count It All Joy by Brother Curtis Hansen

         Good morning. Our subject this morning is about faith in a trial as well as the differences between trials and tribulations. We are going to go back to the book of James and start at the first chapter and first verse. 

        James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

        2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall in divers temptations;

        3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

        James initially did not believe in Jesus when he was on earth. It was only when Jesus died and came back from the dead did James recognize the true nature and power of Jesus.

        There is a difference in knowing a person and knowing about a person. People claim to know Jesus, yet, they don't know any of the things Jesus spoke of us to do. 

        I want to speak about the servant mindset. What does a servant mindset really mean? It isn't giving everything up in your life. It is letting go of the desires of your will, and give it to God to use us where he sees fit. Place God in control in your life. Do you have any gifts or talents? You do. Do you allow God to use them? As a believer, you control the tempo of your day. In having a servant mindset, you are letting God to use you for his good rather than yours.

        A key point I would want you to take this morning is to find joy in your trials. Now, there are some trials you and I experience from the world, because the world is corrupt and broken. Some trials come from our own choices we make moment to moment in a day. Often we will elevate a bad choice as a trial. We don't use the language correctly. For example, you have a bad morning getting ready for work, get to work and proclaim you're going through a trial. There is a difference between a trial and a temptation. If you side with the world on something, it's a temptation. If you side with God on something, it's a test. The good thing about tests are that if you fail it, there is an opportunity to retake it later.

        Trials are global, national, financial, personal, familial, spiritual, and emotional. When you are hit with more than one trial, you are going through what is called complex grief. In the Bible, Job was an example of complex grief. That first chapter where he is told by different servants what was happening to his belongings and possessions to even his children. With complex grieving you don't have time to grieve over one thing, because there are other things hitting you. In every season of your life there are going to be good times and bad times. It is what you fix upon that affects your view in a trial. Trials strip away your resolve and your faith if you don't have the strength and made up mind to resist it. God is not affected by your trials. He can relate to you. Trials apply pressure and reveal you your true character. James is saying in the scripture reading that you should know your trials are in your way and you must be ready for them when you find yourself in one.

        Trials can sometime reveal an inner anger you have or a deep seated fear. Trials can center us and reveal to us what is important. This is why you need to adopt the mindset of counting a trial as joy. 

        There are four types of people revealed during the course of a personal trial. First you have the worrier. You are your own worst false prophet if you focus on your worries. The second type of person is a grinder. It's a person who bears down on their work and pushes ahead with life, but they are miserable and unhappy. Think of all the knowledge we have in the world today. A lot of this information is on our phone with a simple touch of a button. We have all this knowledge, but we are completely lacking in wisdom. 

        The next type of person is the blamer. When they are going through a trial, there's no personal accountability. It's always someone else or something else that is the reason of their trial. The last type of person is the rebel. The rebel is one who goes through a trial and if God doesn't answer quick enough to suit his liking, the rebel sits out. God wasn't good to me so I'm taking a break and work on me. The statement You do you is one too many people live their life by.

        You will find joy in all parts of life when you gain wisdom. You will find joy in the struggle of the trial. Or you can be a worrier, grinder, blamer, or rebel in life. You may even see some parts of your life that fall in one or all of those categories. 

        There's a statement I came across as I was preparing this message that I wanted to share with you. As soon as you start self medicating, you stop growing. It doesn't matter if it's drugs, alcohol, self care by various interests or hobbies. What you use to medicate yourself will shunt your growth with God. God isn't asking you for your best, he's asking you for your obedience. Learn from and see your mistakes. Don't press pause on your walk and retreat inward. In finding joy you see that God is faithful and he's a faithful God. If you just ask he will show up.

        4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

        What you will find out whatever you put your faith in will fail and fall away on you eventually. God will not.

        5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

        6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

        7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

        8 A double minded man is unstable in al his ways.

        In finding your joy through your trials you get a graduation day. You can retest the test until you pass. the Bible calls for us to rejoice with those who are happy and weep with those who weep. Pray for those people. Go and do. Encourage those who are going through a trial themselves. Instead of storing up things here on earth, start storing treasures up in heaven. All knowledge and wisdom you receive from a trail you should store in heaven.