"2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."  James 1:2-4 NKJV

I have been reading James this week, and man, compared to O.T. Law, James is HARD!  What's my attitude when I have trials?  I get depressed, I worry about why?? am I being punished?  I start worrying about what might happen to me next.  Sometimes anxiety gets me to the point where I can hardly function at all for a while.

What about the O.T. prophets?  Did they "Count it all joy"?  No, they ran, they hid, they begged God to let them die.  In the end, they did what they had to do, but God didn't require them to "Count it all joy".  So if they couldn't do that, how can we possibly? And why does God expect it of us?

I think it's because we have God's grace more fully revealed to us than what they had in the O.T.  With God's revelation of His Grace to us through Christ's finished work on the cross, and His Holy Spirit to help us, we are expected to yeild to Him and avail ourselves of His Grace that He makes available to all who are born of His Spirit.

"4But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing."   James 1:4  Amplified Bible

Here we see that we are to "LET endurance and steadfastness and patience" work in our lives, so it isn't something we have to do by gritting our teeth and toughing it out.  It's a gift from God, and not something that could be accomplished by us at all, so the patience spoken of here is not a work of our flesh...  not even possible!  It is the result of YIELDING ourselves to God, and letting His Grace work in us and through us.

"9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."   2 Corinthians 12:9,10  NKJV