James

James 5:12 says:

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

Why is God concerned with swearing by an oath? It seems like a strange point for James to drive home on? But if it didn’t have significance for our lives (Jesus teaches the same in Matt 5:33-37), it wouldn’t be in the Word of God.

The issue here is two-fold. The first is integrity, the second is judgment.

Integrity is when people see what they get and get what they see. To be someone who needs to swear or add anything to their word, it points to a lack of integrity.

Are you going to be truthful? Or can we only rely on your word when you add an external, additional weight to it in the form of an oath?

Jesus and James write, let your yes mean yes and let your no mean no. When you speak be a speaker of truth, because everything you say you say before the hearing of our God. And that should be all the motivation you need to not embrace anything less than the truth.

Secondly, we are taught not to make oaths or swear by anything because doing so brings upon our lives judgment.

Anytime we swear, make an oath or even an inner vow we are committing ourselves to that. Jesus tells us soberly that for every word we speak carelessly we will need to give an account (Matthew 12:36).

When we say “I swear, I will never do… “ or “I promise I am going to… “ or “I’ll never be…” we are committing ourselves to a course of action by the power of our word and will. This can result in terrible consequences as we either bind ourselves to a damaging direction in life or we throw away our word flippantly, without consideration, and will be judged for doing so.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

PRAYER: Father, I receive your word to be a person who embraces truth. I commit to you my words and tongue that I might reflect Jesus in all that I say. I ask you for the grace to do this, in Jesus name Amen.

James Chapter 1 verses 2 – 4 says:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing 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.

Trial will come in life. We know that they will come because verse 2 above tells us “when” they come, not “if” they come.

We can’t avoid trials, but we can determine how we face them.

Trials are by nature difficult. But it is our attitude towards our trials that determines greatly how we progress through them. Further, our attitude towards how we view our trials determines what comes as a result of them, in our lives.

That is why the Apostle James writes “consider it all joy”. How you view your trial is critical to what you are going to take out of it.

The person who is on the course of perfecting and completing their faith (verse 4) is the person who can look at their trial and respond joyfully.

But how do we look at our trials and get joyful about it?
“Don’t you know the pain?”
“Don’t you get the suffering I am in?”
“Don’t you understand the stress I am under?”
“Don’t you see what I am going through God??”

These are all common, natural responses. But the person pursuing the perfection and the completion of their faith understands we need to hold fire on our emotions, because the Word of God tells us to consider it ALL JOY.

How do we consider it all joy to face trials? We look at our trials – although difficult and taxing – through the lens of what God can do in and through them.

What if we looked at our trial, not as something I am going to lose in, but as an opportunity for God to bless me? That’s a joyfully different point of view!

What if we began to see our trial not as something that is going to rob from me, diminish me or destroy me but as an opportunity for God to reveal himself to you in a way you’ve never experience before?

The person who looks at their trial through God’s eyes can see God’s blessing for them in it:

• The testing of my faith will produce endurance
• An enduring faith will give me the strength to persevere
• As I keep enduring I am growing, maturing in God
• The end result of my growing is a perfect, complete faith lacking nothing!

There is much good you can mine from your trial. But only if you approach it from the persecutive of faith in a God who desires to use it for your good!

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for my trial. I resolve not to complain and whine, but rather I give you praise that in the midst of this trial I am going to persevere and overcome, by your strength and Spirit. Thank you that what the enemy intended for my harm, you are redeeming for my good! In Jesus name, Amen.