Members Message October 2025

Members Message

Trials and Tribulations - Training in James In this new series, Faith in Action: A Series on the Book of James, Bruce Billington guides us through James’s powerful letter—written with urgency and moral clarity. This study will challenge us to grow beyond being mere believers, becoming true disciples who live out an authentic and practical Christianity. 🎧Listen now as we begin to reframe our hardships while journeying through the Book of James.  

As we progress through this book, we will primarily focus on the topics that James teaches, rather than providing a detailed verse-by-verse explanation. This month, we will look at trials and tribulations; next session, we will discuss temptations. I want to make it very clear that trials and tribulations are quite different from temptations.

If we don’t grasp how they differ and how to respond suitably, we risk being taken out by them or missing the benefits they can provide. Today, we are specifically examining trials and tribulations, not temptations. Do not apply what I am telling you today to temptations. They must be dealt with differently, as we will see next month.

1. Trials

Consider It All Joy

James 1:2-4 – “2 Consider it all joy, my brethren when you encounter various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Consider it all joy? Really? 

The Greek word for joy is chara - it genuinely relates to the benefits of health and happiness that people wish for themselves or their friends. So, in this context, the “joy” James mentions is the realisation that these situations give us a chance to become more Christ-like if we face them positively. He speaks from the understanding that the specific purpose of these trials is to develop us, not to break us. No one, whether they are a believer or not, is exempt from trials and tribulations in life. However, their perspective on what those are is often wrong. Most people see them as times when we become sick, face financial instability, lose our jobs, lose a spouse or family member, or endure a range of other personal hardships. This certainly can be the case, but trials don’t always have to look like this. Some people go through life without ever facing such challenges. So, what exactly are these trials? Description - The Webster 1828 dictionary describes trials and tribulations as sufferings that put strength, patience, or faith to the test: afflictions or temptations that exercise and prove the graces or virtues of men. Tests of one's patience or endurance.  To a genuine believer, a trial is anything that takes us out of our comfort zone, away from our well-controlled life and into an area we cannot overcome by our own strength. The Biblical process of being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18) allows trials and tribulations to serve this purpose. Even Christ faced this. Speaking of Him, the writer of Hebrews says, "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus had to learn and grow in His role in life through experiencing difficulties. Paul teaches that if we don’t share in the sufferings of Christ, then we cannot partake in the life He came to bring us (Philippians 3:10). The blessings of a life surrendered to Christ come at a cost, both to Him and to us. We must embrace the cross to receive them.

The Incorrect Response

Most of us in the Western world have made the pursuit of pleasure and self-fulfilment our primary life goal. This focus on a pleasure-centred life does not align with how Christians are called to live, nor is it what Jesus promises—at least in this life. Seventy per cent of Christians worldwide face some form of persecution. They are also assured of joy—but it comes through tribulations, not despite them. We often want control over our lives and try to minimise pain while maximising pleasure. The only issue with this is that it’s simply not possible in a fallen world – especially not where the Holy Spirit is responsible for transforming our lives.

The Fiery Furnace

We are being forged in the fiery furnace, which is why the writer to the Hebrews warns us not to join those who shrink back to destruction—meaning they revert to their old coping mechanisms: materialism, alcohol, any kind of pleasure, or whatever else, instead of reaching out and embracing a faith that preserves their soul (Hebrews 10:39). Jesus told us that every branch that bears fruit, He prunes so it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2). We are not being punished here - it is a process of being made whole. Matthew Henry says this, "Of the many that are afflicted and oppressed, few get the good they might get by their affliction. It should drive them to God, but how seldom is this the case!"  So, if, as the Scripture teaches, we can expect trials and tribulations, we must learn how to make them work together for our good (Romans 8:28).

How to Respond

The correct response to these trials is to entrust ourselves into God’s hands. If we don’t receive what God intends for us through them, He will guide us through a similar experience later. The way to pray is not to ask God to “get us out,” but to ask Him to “get us through.” We should ask Him to reveal to us what He wants us to learn from this experience, so that we can become more Christ-like.

The Crown of Life

Firstly, we need to recognise that this promised crown of life is offered to us in the present moment. It speaks of life in its fullness and wholeness, both for now and for the future. This means that if we truly embrace what Christ has for us, despite the cost, our lives today will gain more meaning, purpose, and fulfilment. The crown of life referenced here is also mentioned in Revelation.Revelation 2:10 – “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”Revelation 3:11 – “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”Jesus tells the church to hold firmly to what they already have so it won’t be taken away from them. It’s not a promise for the future; it’s about the present. It gives us the right relationship with God. Nothing in life is better than this.To earn this crown, we must face many trials. We will all encounter times when our cry is something like “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” These are times or seasons when it is tough to keep going and very easy to give up. Although it is very difficult, having done all we can, we must then stand. The blessed person is the one who endures; the one who holds fast to their confession. They keep going and don’t give up because their hope is in God, and despite themselves, they are reaching for the eternal weight of glory that is far beyond all comparison.The key is to let trials and hardships serve their purpose. The believer is encouraged to face trials with joy because they understand these experiences are meant to build a deeper, stronger, and more confident faith, leading to greater knowledge and a closer relationship with God.Some Practical Helps

1. Find Jesus when you are in the midst of your troubles. Ask, “What are you working on in my life through this, Lord? How can I build spiritual strength from this?”
2. Remember what He has done for you in the past and stay thankful and grateful to Him for His faithfulness. God never changes. He causes all things to work together for good in the end—if it isn’t good, it isn’t the end yet. Keep going. Everything is finite. It doesn’t last forever.
3. Watch who you spend time with. Avoid hanging around miserable, negative, or constantly complaining people - they will wear you down. Instead, surround yourself with those who are pursuing life and will lift you up. Psalm 1 warns us not to walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
4. Keep praying and don’t give up your spiritual disciplines.
5. Maintain the mindset of Christ - don’t indulge the flesh. This is the time to bring every thought into obedience to Christ. Avoid falling back into old, bad habits that seek comfort.

Remember the mantra given for times like these - James 1:12 – “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Reach out for the crown - if you let Him, God will guide you there and make it part of your life today. God bless you. Bruce Billington