In day 2 of "James for You", Rachel goes a little deeper into the struggles that James' audience, the Jewish Christians, were facing, and why James is telling them to "Consider it pure Joy". There can be mixed reactions when we read this scripture. One, there could be a tendency to not really take this seriously. It could just be a feel good passage that we believe we’ve already checked our Christian checklist. Another reaction could be how overwhelming that is, and how is it even possible to consider it pure joy(?!), to persevere in the middle of all that we are experiencing these days (?!), and also not to doubt God at the same time?!?!
It does seem impossible as we face the "when, not if" reality of the trials of this earth; However, as we will see as we go further into James, the fear of our unknowns dims in light of our faithful God, and that is what gives us the strength to regard the trials, traumas, and tragedies as gifts not curses.
