Simple Tastes
I’m a dude with very simple tastes. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy going out to a nice restaurant from time to time with cloth napkins and servers who tuck their shirts in.
But there are few things better than the aroma of dinner slowly cooking in the crockpot all day long. The smell from the kitchen makes my heart soar and my stomach roar. I know the end result is going to be tender and delicious.
Time Is on Your Side
There’s just one catch with the good ol’ crock. I’ve gotta wait. When it comes to time, there’s no doubt microwaves, instapots, air fryers, and the good ol’ as-seen-on-TV bamboo steamer are the jam.
But let’s face food facts, my friends. They may cook faster but they don’t cook better. If you want something scrumptious, think crockpot. That’s because the Rolling Stones are right. Time is on our side.
Worth the Wait
And that’s the key technique in God’s recipe for disciple-making. Time. As the Almighty Creator of the universe, He can do what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants.
But His tried and truth way of building faith in His followers takes time. Call it God’s Crockpot of Faith. It’s worth the wait. Every. Single. Time.
A Guy Named James
That’s exactly what a guy named James is talking about in the opening lines of a letter he wrote to believers back in the First Century.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Instead of avoiding them, see tough times as a good thing. There’s nothing like them to grow your trust in God. But it’s gonna take a while. In the end, you’ll be glad you did. The Lord will use it to transform you into the person He created you to be.
The Kid Brother of Jesus
Before we dig in, I think it’s a good idea to know just who it is writing these words. Who in the Wide World of Sports has the gall to say all this?
So glad you asked. James just happens to be the kid brother of Jesus. How do we know? First of all, a couple of Christ biographers tell us He had a brother by that name (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3).
When Your Big Brother Is the Son of God
But the Lord’s human family thought their oldest Son was…umm…what’s the best way to put this? Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs (Mk 3:21).
It wasn’t until AFTER Jesus came strolling out of the cemetery that James finally believed that His big Brother is actually the sinless Son of God. Paul specifically lists him as seeing the risen Savior (1Cor 15:7).
A Top Dog at the Home Office
James quickly went from serious doubter to servant leader in the church at Jerusalem. Various writers of the New Testament consistently mention him as one of the top dogs at the home office (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal 1:19; 2:9, 12).
As one of the folks at the front of the faith, James sat down and wrote what many to believe the very first document of what we call the New Testament. There’s a good chance he put his pen to paper not long after 40 AD. That’s less than ten years after the resurrection!
Tough Sledding for the First Followers
It was incredibly tough sledding for those first followers of Jesus. Remember, even the Apostle Paul was the Assassin Saul before the resurrected Christ ambushed him on the way to a black ops assignment to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).
A quick read of Acts makes it clear the early believers faced all sorts of active resistance everywhere they went. Arrests, beatings, floggings, stonings, and even assassinations. And we complain when our latte is lukewarm.
What We Need
It’s easy to think these things are terrible and would cause a ton of the faithful to fall away. Think again. James says tough times are just what Jesus’ followers need to deepen their trust in Him.
It’s God’s crockpot of faith.
Right out of the Chute
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Yup, there it is. Right out of the chute. Jesus’ little brother doesn’t pussyfoot around when it comes to pain. In the opening lines of his letter, he lets us know that trials and troubles are on the way.
But back up the truck. “Count it all joy” (v2). Really?!? Come on, dude. Are you telling me I should throw a party complete with confetti and balloons when life takes a hard left turn?
Let’s Take a Quick Walk
Would you do me a solid? I think a quick walk through these words in the original Greek would be a huge help. Ready? Here we go.
A Coach in Crunch Time
“Count it” (Gr. hegeomai/‘ηγεομα) is a verb which means to make a leadership decision after weighing all the facts. You’ve looked at the whole situation and have determined what to do…even when it’s hard. ESPECIALLY when it’s hard!
Think of a coach who’s called time out during crunch time. He calls tells his team what to do once he’s considered all the different options. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do…
The Whole Enchilada
Then there’s “all” (Gr. pas/πας). Depending on how you use it, it can mean full, supreme, every, each. The whole enchilada. As the saying goes, “all” means all and that’s all “all” means.
I went to public school and was no math major but counting it all isn’t exactly calculus. We need to take into account every single thing that happens in our lives. Nothing is left out. Count. It. ALL.
Joy versus Happiness
Which leads us to “joy” (Gr. chara/χαρα). BUT counting all these trials as joy does NOT mean we’re happy about it.
This is probably as much about what it is NOT as what it is. While happiness and joy are similar, they aren’t the same thing.
What It Is and What It’s Not
First, what joy it’s not. Happiness is based on happenings. It’s the feeling we get from what’s going down here and now. Because of that, happiness is like cotton candy. Shows up quickly and disappears just like that.
Now, what it is. Joy is that deeper, enduring sense that God wants His best for us and everything will be better because of Him. By trusting that He not only loves us but is in complete control of the whole deal, nothing can steal our joy. And I mean nothing.
Brothers and Sisters
At this point, James refers to his readers as “my brothers” (v2). Don’t worry. He’s not just talking to the guys. You can just as easily translate the original language here as “my brothers and sisters.”
Do you remember who Jim’s big Brother is? That’s right. None other than our Lord. Sure seems like the guy who probably shared a room with the Son of God wants us to realize we have the same relationship with our Savior.
Our Brother Jesus
What the WHAT?!? Jesus is OUR Big Brother? Yup. The resurrected Christ tells His team that they are His brothers (Mt 25:40).
In the Great Chapter 8 of Romans, Paul refers to Jesus as “the first born among many brothers” (Rom 8:32). And in Hebrews we read that He is not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb 2:11).
The Best Big Brother
He’s the best big brother we can ever imagine. He will NEVER pick on you. He’ll also protect you from any bully that tries to push you around.
Editor’s note: As a big brother myself, I can promise you that my younger siblings didn’t get this sort of brotherly love from yours truly.
Not If but When
Okay, back to God’s crockpot of faith. Jimmy tells the followers of Jesus to find the joy “when you meet trials of various kinds” (v2).
Did you notice that he said “when?” Not if. But when. This is the Greek hotan/‘οταν. It not only means every time something happens, but as soon as it does, you’re ready for it.
There’s both an immediacy and expectancy to it. It’s knowing what you’re going to do ahead of time! You’re not caught off guard. You may not know exactly what will happen, but you’re ready for something.
A Sudden Encounter
That’s kind of a big deal since we don’t know which, when, how, and what’s around the corner. I’m not crazy about translating the original language here as “meet.” It’s not exactly like bumping into an old buddy at Starbucks.
The Greek verb here is peripipto/περιπιπτω. It paints a picture of suddenly encountering something difficult or bad or abruptly come into a tough situation that you didn’t see coming.
An Ambush
It literally means “to fall into the middle of” with the idea of being surrounded with no way out. Think of an ambush. Being blindsided.
It’s only used two other times in the entire New Testament. A quick flip over to those verses will show you what I mean.
Mugged and Run aground
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus describes how a dude was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho when “he fell (Gr. peripipto/περιπιπτω) among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead (Lk 10:30).
When Paul was on his way to Rome, the ship he was on ran aground after “striking (Gr. peripipto/περιπιπτω) a reef” (Acts 27:41).
Jumped by muggers. Slamming into a reef. Certainly things you didn’t put on your to-do list before leaving home this morning.
The Divine Department of Quality Assurance
James certainly doesn’t put a limit on the kind of stuff that can catch us by surprise. It can be “various kinds of trials” (v2). In other words, it can be anything. Ready or not, here they come!
What exactly are these so-called “trials?” Well, the Greek word here (Gr. peripasmos/περιπασμος) is a little tricky. It can either mean a positive test or a negative temptation.
Whether it’s good or bad, it’s a period of testing in order to learn the quality of someone or something. Like a stress test. It’s straight from the Divine Department of Quality Assurance.
Genuine Faith
Jesus’ younger brother lets us in on the reason we should not just joyfully expect hard times but welcome them into our lives. “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (v3).
Jimbo uses a different word to describe this kind of “testing.” The Greek noun dokimion/δοκιμιον is all about a means of testing or proving the genuineness of something.
Tested by Fire
It only shows up one other time in the Bible. Over in Peter’s first letter, the apostle Jesus nicknamed Rocky makes a VERY similar statement to what we see here in James.
“In this your rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness (Gr. dokimion/δοκιμιον) of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1Pet 1:6-7).
The Real Deal?
The only way to know if our faith in Jesus is legit is by putting it under pressure. Is my trust in Him the real deal? It’s one thing to place my faith in Christ when life is good, the sky is blue, and I’m catching every green light along the way.
But what happens when the fecal matter hits the whirling machine? How does my trust in Jesus hold up then? How do I react when I’m blindsided by life, ambushed by health, or mugged by work? THAT’S when my faith is exposed.
A Pandemic Punch in the Gut
That’s where a lot of us are right now. I’m writing this as the world is months into the coronavirus pandemic that has punched the people of our planet in the gut. Millions sick. Hundreds of thousands dead. Thirty six million Americans unemployed.
COVID-19 is certainly testing my faith. God has blessed me and my family with health, and for that I am incredibly grateful. But I was furloughed a couple of weeks ago after 40 years with my company.
Wobbling Faith
Being without a job was nothing I saw coming just a couple of months ago. While I hate that it’s happened, each day I have to remind myself that He will never let me go no matter what happens.
I’ve wobbled a few times. And while I hope I don’t, I fully expect it to wobble again. And again.
Faithfulness That Never Fails
The bad news is that our faith is going to crack and crumble at some point. But here’s the better news. God’s faithfulness NEVER fails. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2Tim 2:13).
His faithfulness never fails. He ALWAYS comes through when the chips are down. He ALWAYS passes the test with flying colors.
Gutsy Waiting
But Jesus’ way of building our faith in His faithfulness is through “steadfastness” (Gr. hupomone/‘υπομονη). This is patient endurance, perseverance, and fortitude. I like to think of it as gutsy waiting.
It’s actually a compound word that describes staying in place and remaining under something difficult. Steadfastness is brave and calm endurance while remaining right where you are.
Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
I love how the Message paraphrases this. “You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors” (v3 The Message). These tests expose us. They expose our trust in Jesus. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
When it all goes down, “let steadfastness have its full effect” (v4). Welcome to the hardest part. The longer we hang in there, the stronger our faith in God grows.
For Faith That Lasts, It Won’t Be Fast
He doesn’t pop our trust into the microwave for a couple of minutes and get what we want. He drops it into His trusty Crockpot of Faith and get what we need. It’s gonna take time.
Trust me. I would absolutely wish He could nuke my trust quickly. But He simply doesn’t work that way. For a faith that will last, it won’t be fast.
Full Effect
I recently heard Andy Stanley teach on this truth. He sums it up this way. “Lord, use this until you choose to remove this.”
In other words, we must let God’s Crockpot of Faith have its full effect.
Achieving His Purpose
James says simmering in the Lord’s slow cooker is the only way “you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (v4).
Don’t take this the wrong way. You and I won’t reach perfection. Not on this side of eternity anyway. The meaning here is that we’ll be full developed and mature.
Jimmy wants us to know that when it’s all said and done, God will have achieved His purpose for what He sent our way. His goal has been reached.
Everything We Need
We’ll also be “complete” (v4). In other words, we’ll be whole. He’ll make sure that we have everything we needed to gain from the process. Nothing He hoped to accomplish in us will be missing.
Just in case we missed his point, the author doubles down on the idea that there’s nothing God has missed when we come out of His Crockpot of Faith. We’ll be “lacking in nothing” (v4).
We won’t need a single, stinking thing that He wanted us to have. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Nill. The Big Goose Egg.
Letting Us Simmer
It’s never easy when the various trials of life blindside us. But we should expect them. We need lean into them. Why? Because the Lord is up to something in our lives.
We may wish He would just zap our trust in a microwave. Instead He lets us simmer in His Crockpot of Faith.
©2020
Jay Jennings
