Joy as You Endure

The testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:3–4

The word endurance in the original Greek is a compound of two words. The first is the word for under and the second is the word for abide. It means “to stay under,” “to abide under something.” It has to do with patience or endur- ance, particularly when you find yourself under difficult circumstances.

However, it doesn’t mean to grit your teeth and get through it somehow. It’s an active word that has to do with overcoming difficulties by responding to them with faith and joy.

Do you want to be spiritually mature? Then you need endurance. Do you want to have endurance? Then you need trials to test it.

It’s not just having trials that helps you to endure; it’s responding to those trials with faith and joy. There are a lot of people who go through trials and don’t come out with endurance. You only do so if you receive those trials and “consider it a great joy” (James 1:2).