#BibleStudy Expressions of Faith. James Ch 1. Joyful or Happy?

This is the second post in the James series. I'm adding a section titled, Express Your Faith this Week.  Three interactive activities will help you Pray, Think, and Do what you learned. Let me know how it goes!
  
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 
James 1:2-3
James starts with a statement that sounds like nonsense from a worldly perspective.
  • Few people voluntarily go through trials.
  • James’s choice for the proper reaction to trials is joy, not happiness.

Depending on the translation, the Bible uses the words happy and happiness about 30 times, while joy and rejoice appear over 300 times.

Joy and happiness are wonderful feelings to experience, but are very different. Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. … happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts, and events. 

However, James’s focus in these verses is neither joy nor happiness.

James explains that perseverance comes from tests of our faith.
  • Joy in the Lord is critical in the development of perseverance because of its deep roots in your experiences with God. 

James expands his thoughts on the joy  perseverance connection to include a vital caveat. 
  • Joy comes with a price: Trials of many kinds.
  • The testing of your faith through those trials produces perseverance.
  • So, if you’re feeling discouraged in your spiritual life, change your outlook when trials come.

How?
  • By considering those trials as essential stops on the “pure joy” path you travel with Jesus.
Express Your Faith this Week
Pray every day. Ask God to help you focus on trials that occur with joy so you will persevere through your Christian walk.

 Think. Search Christian resources and compare the definitions of joy and happiness you find.

Do. Write one, two, or three haiku poems about joy, happiness, and/or perseverance. A traditional Japenese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Here's an example titled "Frog."

 Green/ and/ speck/led /legs,
Hop/ on/ logs/ and/ lil/y /pads
Splash/ in/ cool/ wa/ter.

 Of course, it’s okay to write in any poetic format. God accepts you—and your poetry—just the way you are and it is!
My Poem












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