Living Undivided in a Divided World
James 1:1-12
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
We live in a world divided at every level—politically, morally, relationally, even spiritually. Every scroll through the news or swipe on social media reminds us: we’re a fractured people. But James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that the deeper divide isn’t “out there” in the world, it’s inside our hearts.
If we’re honest, many of us try to live with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom. We want the peace of Jesus, but we also want control. We want to trust God, but we don’t want to release our grip on comfort or certainty. It’s like that tree planted right on the border of Utah and Wyoming, its trunk stands in both states, but it can only draw life from one soil. So can we. Eventually, one root system will win.
James writes to believers scattered and suffering—people pushed out of their homes, uncertain of what’s next. He doesn’t begin his letter with pity but with purpose:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (James 1:2–3)
Trials, James says, aren’t interruptions to your spiritual life; they are your spiritual life. They reveal where your faith truly draws strength. God isn’t out to destroy you through difficulty, He’s forming you through it.
C. S. Lewis once wrote, “You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
That’s what God is doing through your pain—He’s remaking you into His dwelling place.
So how do we respond when the storm hits? James gives us three invitations.
1. Reframe the Trial
Don’t ask, “How can I get out of this?” Ask, “What is God growing in me through this?” Joy isn’t pretending pain doesn’t hurt; it’s perceiving God’s purpose in the middle of it. Wholeness begins in the mind before it’s formed in the heart.
2. Run to the Father
James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.” When life feels confusing, run toward your Father, not away from Him. He gives generously and without reproach. He’s not annoyed by your questions—He’s near in your weakness. From His wholeness, He makes us whole.
3. Root Your Identity
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation.” Whether you have plenty or little, both are invitations to boast in grace, not gain. Our identity isn’t built on possessions or circumstances but on a person and work of Jesus Christ.
David Gibson writes:
“James doesn’t tell us to stop boasting; he tells us to boast in the right things — to let our confidence, our sense of worth, be rooted not in ourselves but in what Christ has done.”
His work of redemption is our reason to boast.
Here's the big idea: Wholeness is forged in trials, formed through trust, and found in Christ alone.
The same God who began His work in you will finish it. So stay steadfast. Stay surrendered. Because the One who is whole has given Himself wholly to you. And when He is your soil, your roots will never fail.
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
We live in a world divided at every level—politically, morally, relationally, even spiritually. Every scroll through the news or swipe on social media reminds us: we’re a fractured people. But James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that the deeper divide isn’t “out there” in the world, it’s inside our hearts.
If we’re honest, many of us try to live with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom. We want the peace of Jesus, but we also want control. We want to trust God, but we don’t want to release our grip on comfort or certainty. It’s like that tree planted right on the border of Utah and Wyoming, its trunk stands in both states, but it can only draw life from one soil. So can we. Eventually, one root system will win.
James writes to believers scattered and suffering—people pushed out of their homes, uncertain of what’s next. He doesn’t begin his letter with pity but with purpose:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (James 1:2–3)
Trials, James says, aren’t interruptions to your spiritual life; they are your spiritual life. They reveal where your faith truly draws strength. God isn’t out to destroy you through difficulty, He’s forming you through it.
C. S. Lewis once wrote, “You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
That’s what God is doing through your pain—He’s remaking you into His dwelling place.
So how do we respond when the storm hits? James gives us three invitations.
1. Reframe the Trial
Don’t ask, “How can I get out of this?” Ask, “What is God growing in me through this?” Joy isn’t pretending pain doesn’t hurt; it’s perceiving God’s purpose in the middle of it. Wholeness begins in the mind before it’s formed in the heart.
2. Run to the Father
James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.” When life feels confusing, run toward your Father, not away from Him. He gives generously and without reproach. He’s not annoyed by your questions—He’s near in your weakness. From His wholeness, He makes us whole.
3. Root Your Identity
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation.” Whether you have plenty or little, both are invitations to boast in grace, not gain. Our identity isn’t built on possessions or circumstances but on a person and work of Jesus Christ.
David Gibson writes:
“James doesn’t tell us to stop boasting; he tells us to boast in the right things — to let our confidence, our sense of worth, be rooted not in ourselves but in what Christ has done.”
His work of redemption is our reason to boast.
Here's the big idea: Wholeness is forged in trials, formed through trust, and found in Christ alone.
The same God who began His work in you will finish it. So stay steadfast. Stay surrendered. Because the One who is whole has given Himself wholly to you. And when He is your soil, your roots will never fail.
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