“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2 NLT)

There are certain passages of Scripture that make you say, “Huh?” James 1:2 is a prime example. It almost defies logic. Doesn’t it seem natural for our circumstances to dictate our response? It’s just input and output, isn’t it? If we’re dealt personal troubles, the obvious responses are anger, frustration, and anxiety. If we experience a betrayal, the logical response is bitterness. If the input is disappointment, the output is sadness. Right?

Not according to James 1:2. “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” If that seems like a weird thing to say to a suffering person, look more closely. James isn’t saying enjoy it when you suffer. And he’s not saying that troubles are joy because they’re not. Hebrews 12:11 tells us, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful!” (NLT). James is saying when you’re confronted by difficult situations, make the choice to rejoice.

Jesus set the ultimate example for us in this area. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame” (NLT). Joy? What joy? Jesus was scoured with a whip thirty-nine times. His beard was ripped from His face. He was punched countless times by Roman soldiers. He had a crown of thorns pressed into His scalp. After losing a tremendous amount of blood, He was forced to carry a heavy crossbeam to the site of His crucifixion. He had spikes driven through His wrists and feet.

Can you find the joy in this picture? Jesus could. The joy was you. The joy was me.

Jesus knew what His suffering and death on the cross would accomplish. He came to this world to be a suffering Savior, to bear our sins, to die in our place, and then to rise again from the dead. Instead of focusing on the misery and pain of His immediate circumstances, He saw the joy in the big picture. He made the choice to rejoice.

Paul and Silas made the same choice when they sang praises to God after they’d been thrown in a Roman jail for preaching the gospel (see Acts 16:25–40). They didn’t give in to self-pity, fear, or anger behind bars. Instead, they counted it a privilege to suffer for their faith. They understood that God was doing something bigger, and they rejoiced that they were able to play a part in His plan.

You can do the same thing. If you’re going through a time of trial right now, rejoice. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to or don’t feel like it. Rejoice. Why? Because God is in control. He knows what you’re experiencing. Rejoice because God is working your situation for His purposes.

If you’re struggling in a relationship, rejoice. God may be strengthening your bond. Or He may be giving you clarity about what your next step should be. Whatever the case, know that He is aligning your relationship with His will.

No matter what you’re going through, it will work together for God’s glory and ultimately for your good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT). God is in control, so we can make the choice to rejoice.

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“And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.” (James 1:13 NLT)

The urge to “pass the buck”—that is, to blame others when you get caught doing something wrong—was one of the first byproducts of sin. Genesis 3 tells us that sin entered the world when Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Shortly thereafter, they heard God walking through the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Him.

“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’

He replied, ‘I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.’

‘Who told you that you were naked?’ the Lord God asked. ‘Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?’

The man replied, ‘It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’

Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What have you done?’

‘The serpent deceived me,’ she replied. ‘That’s why I ate it’” (verses 9–13 NLT).

First, Adam passed the buck to Eve. What happened to the Adam who said of Eve after she was created, “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man’” (Genesis 2:23 NLT)? He quickly changed his tune to “She did it!” He threw Eve under the bus and then drove it over her a couple times.

What he really did, though, was blame God. If you read between the lines, you see that he’s essentially saying, “Hey, I was just taking a nap. When I woke up, my rib was missing, and she was here. If You hadn’t created her, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Eve tried a different approach: “The devil made me do it.” Nope. The devil can’t make you do anything. He can tempt you, but you have to want what he’s offering, or the temptation won’t work. Ultimately Eve was responsible for her sin, even though she was deceived by the serpent.

You’re responsible for your sins, too—no matter what the circumstances were that led to them. The devil’s not to blame. And neither is God. (Look at those words in James 1:13 again.) We all do a pretty good job of getting ourselves into trouble because we have a sinful nature.

But if we try to shift the blame, we miss a golden opportunity to repent and receive God’s forgiveness. First John 1:9 promises that “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (NLT). To claim that promise, we must take full responsibility for our sin. The verse doesn’t say, “if we incriminate others”; it says, “if we confess.”

When we take responsibility for our sin, we also set a powerful example for our kids. Or other loved ones. Or people who look to us for guidance. Through our example, we give them the courage to take responsibility for their own sin.

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“He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.” (1 Corinthians 15:4–7 NLT)

The New Testament book of James was written by someone very close to Jesus: His half-brother. Jesus was the Son of God the Father and Mary, who conceived supernaturally. James was the son of Joseph and Mary. Jesus and James had the same mother, and they were raised by the same man.

The Bible tells us very little about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. We know that when he was twelve, He amazed the teachers in the Jerusalem temple with His understanding of Scripture (see Luke 2:41–52). Aside from that, we have no information about what He was like as a boy. Or as an older brother to James and His other half siblings.

We know that Jesus lived a sinless life. That means He never lied. He never stole anything. He never lost His temper. He never rebelled or talked back, and He always did His chores.

But did that register with James as a boy? Did he know the story of Jesus’ birth? Did he have the slightest inkling that his brother was the long-awaited Messiah? There’s no indication of it.

And what about later, as an adult? If he didn’t witness any of Jesus’ miracles personally, he certainly knew about them. According to John 7:3–4, “Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!’” (NLT).

That may seem like a statement of encouragement and faith. But verse 5 says, “For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.” James was aware of Jesus’ miracles, not to mention His teachings and His claims to be the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. Yet James refused to believe. He hardened his heart against the truth for as long as he could.

It was Jesus’ disciple Thomas who said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side” (John 20:25 NLT). But that seems to have been James’ attitude, too. So, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus appeared to His brother after His resurrection. He didn’t punish James for his years of unbelief. He gave him the evidence he needed to believe.

After decades of a hard-hearted refusal to believe, James’ heart softened. He finally recognized Jesus for who He is. He embraced the truth of Christ.

Hard-heartedness is a tough condition to overcome, but it’s not impossible. If you encounter someone who stubbornly refuses to accept the truth of the gospel, don’t give up. Keep praying and sharing your faith. You never know where the tipping point is.

The hardest people to reach are the ones closest to you—your spouse, your parents, your kids, your siblings, your oldest friends. If you try to tell them how Christ has changed your life, they get suspicious because they know you too well. But don’t get discouraged. You don’t know the work God is doing to soften their hearts and make them more receptive to the gospel.

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