James 5:13-14
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5:13-14).
Undoubtedly, there are moments in our lives when we experience trials and triumphs. We transition through various seasons of life in which our faith (or lack thereof) is tested to varying degrees through hardship and prosperity. It is in those moments when temptation looms dangerously close to our hearts with questions that flood our minds, such as:
Do we continue to remain faithful to God, when like Job, life is virtually unbearable with strife and calamity?
Do we slip into laziness when our lives become comfortable and mundane?
Do allow our hearts to become filled with anger toward God when life seems unjust or unfair?
Do we take personal credit for the blessings God pours down and exalt self over the Creator?
In others words, when push comes to shove in our lives and we are faced with all the good and bad life has to offer, do we rely on ourselves or God?
In truth, all the peripheral questions that flood our hearts and minds from the moment we enter this world till the day we breathe our last, boils down to the issue of faith. What do we believe and who do we trust as the source of our salvation?
Jesus had a tremendous amount to say regarding our foundation of faith, but none more important than what Matthew records in his Gospel account.
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27).
The significance of what Jesus teaches is that when our lives are overwhelmed with suffering, abound with joyful blessing, or stricken with sickness, the foundation our faith is grounded upon will determine our sinful reaction or righteous response to the season of life we are facing.
This is easily recognizable by the role that emotions play in our thinking. Are we constantly driven by our feelings in times of trial that we are consumed day and night and incapacitated to receive Biblical truth and accountability from our community of faith?
Or in contrast, are we counter-cultural in our thinking and resting in the absolute truth of Scripture which instructs us to "trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8)?
In truth, our flesh desperately seeks to self-protect in times of strife by relying on our experiential knowledge regardless of how limited it is compared to the sovereignty of God, but we must resist logic and trust in the Lord even when we do not "feel" like it will make a bit of difference in remedying our plight.
Similarly, when our lives are quantified as prosperous and the blessings of God are being poured forth in abundance, are we tempted to become malnourished in our daily diet of Biblical truth and becoming too comfortable or lazy in our spiritual disciplines?
Jesus addressed this type of foolish thinking as well to warn His followers of the dangers of misinterpreting the blessing of God as justification for laziness.
"And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’" (Luke 12:16-20).
What we must remember is that our responses to life's circumstances are grounded in our understanding of who God is as written in His Word. We cannot separate ourselves from that foundation of truth if we declare ourselves as born-again, followers of Christ. For without the Bible as our compass in times of trial, how else will we resist the urge to blame God and assume a label of victim when life turns sour quickly?
The entire premise of spiritual self-empowerment is to rid our lives of anyone or anything that interferes with our right to be the master of our own domain and ultimate authority of our destiny, but that is absolutely NOT the Gospel.
Biblical perspective concerning God's sovereignty is the complete antithesis of that. Consider the words of John the Baptist as a perfect example of how counter-cultural the Word of God truly is to self-empowerment.
"He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.” He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:30-36).
John not only provides the answer for how we must live our lives according to Biblical truth, but explains what the consequences will be for those who choose to trust in themselves rather than the author of our salvation, Jesus Christ. What we must grasp considering what James wrote in this final section of his letter is that prayer and praise are devoid of value if we do not reconcile what our foundation of faith is.
For what benefit do we realistically seek to obtain in asking for prayer and anointing of oil if we do not believe in the ultimate source of authority who is able to answer our prayers?
Prayer requests are common even for those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ and Savior of the world, because unbelievers who pray or ask for prayer are desperate for ANY divine intervention that will answer their heart's desire. Let us be clear though.
Such beliefs are conditional in nature and reflect a spiritual emptiness that does not grasp what true Christianity is all about. God's desire is for our sanctification, and at times that constitutes pain, suffering, trial, or illness which may tempt us to doubt He loves us or cares about what we're going through. Or perhaps, God may be abundantly blessing us to test our allegiance to Him as the source of our prosperity.
In either case, we simply cannot predict the reasons behind the sovereignty with which He acts, but we can choose to accept Him at His Word that His will be done to the glory of His name, because He is Holy and worthy to be praised regardless of our past, present or future circumstances.
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen" (Philippians 4:19-20).
Therefore, our response is simple. If we believe God is who He says He is in the pages of Scripture, then we must simply trust Him unconditionally to move and act in our lives without fear of what the enemy throws our way. For we know we are loved by God, and that is the ultimate foundation of our faith which we cling to throughout every season of our lives.
May we remember the promises of God that testify to this truth and remind us of our identity in Christ so that we have the perspective needed to apply James' teaching obediently.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:31-39).
