08 How Trials Strengthen Your Faith

by Krisan Marotta | Mar 25, 2026 | 01 Podcasts, Start Strong

James 1:1–8 explains how trials strengthen your faith and why believers can “count it all joy” when trials come. In this passage, James isn’t promising an easier life. He’s showing how God uses trials to strengthen real saving faith. You’ll learn what “wisdom” means in James 1:5, why God gives it “without reproach,” and what James warns against when he calls someone “double-minded.”

Background on James

James is one of the earliest epistles of the New Testament. It was probably written very close to the time Paul was writing Galatians.

There are four prominent people in the New Testament named James. Most scholars believe the author is James, the brother of Jesus, and the leader of the Jerusalem church.

The letter had to be written before 62 AD, because James was martyred that year. Most scholars date the book somewhere in 45 to 48 AD.

01 Who Was James, and Why Did His Letter Shake the Early Church?

James’ Conversion

James was probably not a believer during Jesus’ earthly ministry as evidence suggests that the other children of Mary and Joseph did not believe Jesus was the Messiah during his earthly ministry.

But that changed after the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:7, Paul records that Jesus appeared to James, his brother.

Many scholars think Jesus came to James and commissioned him into service in the same way he commissioned Paul on the road to Damascus. Church history clearly teaches that James held a significant leadership role in the early Jerusalem church.

Who James Wrote To

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. – James 1:1

James describes himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn’t mention that he is Jesus’ brother.

He addresses the letter to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion. The Dispersion refers to the historical scattering of the Jews around the Mediterranean following the martyrdom of Stephen. The book is written by a Jew to a primarily Jewish audience.

In the Roman Empire at this time, the persecution of Christians was rapidly increasing. James wrote to people who are undergoing, or about to undergo, serious persecution for claiming to follow Jesus.

The first thing he talks about is how to handle and understand the place of trials in the Christian life.

More on the book of James: James: The Gospel in Shoe Leather

Trials reveal faith, and testing produces steadfastness (James 1:2-4)

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

James starts off saying be joyful when you encounter trials and testing. The first question is, what does James mean by trials?

trial, periasmos, G3986

A trial is a situation that tests something to show what it is made of. Trials force us to act , revealing what kind of faith we have.

Think of trials like hot water to a tea bag. You don’t know what’s inside an unlabeled tea bag until you drop it in hot water. The hot water releases the flavor, color, and aroma of the tea. The hot water doesn’t create the flavor. The hot water draws the flavor out.

The same is true of trials. Trials don’t create faith. They reveal what kind of, faith is there. When life gets hard, what’s inside us shows.

Verse 3 tells us what is being tested is our faith. A trial puts our faith under pressure to reveal the nature of it.

It’s easy to say we believe when we’re sitting quietly on our comfy couch and life is good. But when life gets hard, we have to start making choices about how to respond. Those choices reveal who we’re trusting in and what we’re counting on.

When things don’t go our way, we’re forced to ask ourselves, do I really trust God here? Do I believe He’s still good, even when it feels like life is out of control?

Why God Tests our Faith

The trial does not test my worthiness for salvation. It is not a test of character. It is not a test to determine how nice or how patient we are.

The results of that test are already in. Every corner of our being is marked by sin. We all fall short of the glory of God. Apart from the blood of Christ and the grace of God, we have no hope of escaping sin. The question being tested is, do we have real, genuine, saving faith or not?

So why does God test our faith?

Perseverance is Proof

James says we should rejoice in these trials because we know the process of testing our faith brings about steadfastness, or perseverance. Gaining perseverance is so valuable that it is worth putting us through hard times to gain it.

Perseverance is the idea of continuing or enduring.

Perseverance teaches us two things:

perseverance gives us proof that our faith is real (vs 3); and
perseverance leads to wisdom and maturity (vs 4).

Here’s one way to picture this. On a calm day, a tiny sapling might look healthy. By looking at it, we can’t tell how strong its roots are.

But on a stormy day, the wind and rain test its roots. If the tree stands firm through the storm, you know it’s rooted deep in the ground.

That’s what trials do for us. They pull and tug at our roots.

When we’re still clinging to Christ at the end of the trial, we gain confidence. Our roots are strong and our faith is firmly grounded. That’s why remaining steadfast through a trial can answer a haunting question. How do I know I’m truly saved? James, Paul, and Peter all say the same thing. You know your faith is real when your faith has endured trials.

Counting it Joy, not Happiness

Is James serious about “joy”? Can I really be joyful in the midst of hardships?

The promise of the gospel is not that with maturity life will get easier. Life may continue to get harder. It’s hard to be excited about that.

Trials prove our faith is real, and real faith means God will grant us a place in his kingdom. That is the most important gift I can ever receive.

To be able to rejoice in trials is to understand the value of the gospel in a real and practical way.

We rejoice because we know the trial is taking us someplace we really want to go. We rejoice, not in the trial itself, but in what the trial proves we stand to gain.

James is not saying you have to feel happy when life knocks you down. When you go through difficulties, it is normal to acknowledge the hardship and the pain. Joy and happiness are different.

Happiness is the feeling of euphoria that results when good and exciting things happen.

Joy is a sense of satisfaction, because you know good will result. It’s a confident response that this will be worth it.

The joy comes not from the circumstances, but from the hope in the promises of God.

The Crucial Question

Faced with trials, most of us begin with the wish that God will change our circumstances. We wish that He would intervene with more money, improved health, a new lifestyle, a different boss, new friends, a better car, or whatever.

But if James is right, the most important thing about any hardship is not, when will it end? The most important thing is, how am I going to respond to God in the midst of this?

Removing the immediate obstacle to happiness misses the bigger picture: what God is teaching us.

God loves us too much to change our circumstances without changing our hearts. It would do us no good to fix our circumstances without maturing our faith.

Trials are part of the process of maturing and strengthening and growing our faith. Thus we can consider the result of the trial and rejoice, knowing what we stand to gain is worth the trial now.

“Perfect,” “full effect,” and “wisdom” (James 1:4-5)

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. – James 1:4-5

There are three words here we must understand.

“perfect” in verse 4 (perfect, teleios, Strong’s G5046);
“effect” in verse 4 (work, ergon, Strong’s G2041)
“wisdom” in verse 5 (Strong’s G4678)

First, “perfect” or complete. Most often in biblical usage, something is perfect when it has arrived at its intended goal.

An acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, but it has not arrived at that goal yet. Once the acorn has become a mature oak tree, it is perfect. It has arrived at the goal. Sometimes you’ll see this word translated “mature.”

The result of perseverance through trials is that our faith becomes what it is supposed to be. It becomes strong, deeply grounded, and complete.

Next, “have its full effect.” This is more literally, let steadfastness work. The Greek word is ergon, which means work. We get our word ergonomic from it. James’ primary concern in this letter is that my actions reflect what I say I believe.

Faith starts out as an inner conviction, real but immature. Trials go to work on it and force it out in the open. In the process it grows and matures into what it is meant to be.

Now, “wisdom.”

Wisdom is having a godly perspective on life. It is the skill to live life well because I have a true and accurate understanding of life. I see life the way God sees it and make good choices based on that understanding.

To lack wisdom is not to be unsure about which job to take or which person to marry.

To lack wisdom is to be a fool.

If I look at my life and see my faith is not immature, as evidenced by the fact that I lack wisdom, then I should ask. God will give generously. This is not guidance on a specific choice. This is a perspective on life. It is seeing the world the way God sees it.

Why We Hesitate to Ask

James says God gives wisdom generously and without reproach. If the issue is which job to take, or which college to attend, or when to retire, why would I fear God’s reproach? God would not reproach me for not knowing the future.

But if we’re talking about lacking a godly, wise perspective on life, then God could reproach me. Lacking a godly perspective means I’m a fool.

Let me give you an analogy. My family often enjoys role-playing games together. We play two different systems, and the rules are sometimes contradictory and confusing.

I sometimes fear asking our game master for clarification because he is often rightly exasperated with me. His answers indicate he believes I should know this by now. He reproaches me for not getting it yet.

Our situation with God is closer to that analogy. God would not reproach us for not being able to predict the future. But we might fear He could reproach us for not understanding His worldview.

James says you have nothing to fear. God gives wisdom generously and without reproach to fools like us.

How Trials Produce Wisdom

Suppose you have a good job that pays you very well. You like the job. You need it, and you want to keep it.

One of your coworkers lays out evidence that your boss is doing something illegal and immoral. Your coworker convinces you and you believe it is true. But you don’t do anything about it.

Then one day your boss crosses a line. It gets so bad that your coworker confronts the boss at a staff meeting.

The boss says, “Who else believes what this guy is saying? Take a stand now. You’re either for me or against me.”

Now you have to choose. You have said you believe the boss is a crock, but until now it never made a difference. Now you have to act. Your actions will reveal what you really value and what you really think is true and important.

Up to that point your belief was real, but untested and invisible. Now the test has come, and your belief is forced out into the open.

So you stand up and say, “I’m with him. You’re a crook.”

You get fired.

But your beliefs are proven true, and you have gained wisdom. On your next job, you’re going to be a different kind of employee. You now know some things are more important than keeping your job. You’ve learned you can lose a job and life goes on.

Trials can take lots of shapes and forms, but the results are the same. The trial forces me to ask the question, what do I really believe is true?

What Maturity is and is not

Notice maturity does not mean I will always display perfect obedience.

Having wisdom does not mean we are without sin and live without making mistakes. Part of wisdom is being able to clearly see your own sin for what it is.

As I grow in wisdom, I still have the same struggles with myself, but my perspective is changing. Repentance comes a bit quicker. Humility comes sooner. My excuses and justifications begin to seem weak and foolish in a way they didn’t before.

Maturity is not the same thing as being tough.

God is not testing our courage. He is testing our faith. Wisdom doesn’t mean I can brush off the tragedies of life without a sweat.

Rather, wisdom means we have an anchor that gets us through the suffering. Wisdom means we may hold more loosely to the things of this world. Wisdom means we have an increasing measure of joyful hope in the face of hardships.

Warning About Doubt (James 1:5-8)

Having given an encouragement, James now gives a warning.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. – James 1:5-8

Doubt is wavering between two options and not committing to one or the other. It’s sitting on the fence when there is good reason to pick one. To doubt when it comes to faith is to waver in whether I believe in God or not. It’s being undecided as to whether I believe the promises he’s made.

James gives a vivid analogy. The one who doubts is like waves driven and tossed by the wind. The wave goes whichever way the wind blows. It’s not like a tree that stands its ground when the wind blows.

We can be like that in life. As long as life is going my way, I’m happy to believe in God. But when I’m tempted or tried, or I have to make a choice, then I have to land somewhere. To continue to attempt to straddle both choices is doubting.

Being double-minded is being hypocritical. What we say we believe is not really what we believe. We give it lip service. When we have to act on it, we hedge our bets and act the other way around.

So James says the person who plays both sides of the table, the person who asks of God and also has a plan B to take matters into his own hands, that person will not receive anything.

If you trust God, if you submit your life to him, if you have real saving faith, God gives generously without reproach.

But if you’re trying to play both sides, trusting God and the world, then you will receive nothing. You either trust God or you don’t.

Weak Faith, Honest Confusion, and Being “all in”

Everyone who recognizes they have an immature or weak faith can call out to God for wisdom and maturity, and they can have absolute confidence God will grant their request. We can go to God with a weak faith and a foolish heart and say, “I believe. Help me in my unbelief.”

Honest doubt, which is confusion or fear, is okay. But doubt that is hostility to God is a problem.

Most Christians go through a period of confusion where God doesn’t seem to make sense. I don’t think that’s the kind of double-minded person James is talking about. Those struggles can come from a heart that is open and eager to know God.

Rather, the doubter is the fool who holds back from God. The double-minded man acts like a Christian on the outside when it suits him. He tries to keep all his options open.

James is not claiming, if you ask God which job you should take with doubt, he won’t tell you anything.

Neither is James teaching that the reason hardship continues is because you haven’t yet found the right way to ask God, meaning with 100% doubt-free faith.

Instead James is saying this: God puts trials and hardships in your life to take your weak, immature faith and grow it into everything it was meant to be. If you look at your life now and say, I’m not there yet, I’m still weak, I lack this kind of wisdom, what should I do? You should call out to God. He is generous and capable and will do what he promises.

The warning is not that you can never have doubts at all. The warning is you have to be all in. You can’t hedge your bets and take God for granted, and only seek him when you need something.

God will accept the most immature and foolish person who humbly asks for mercy, as long as the foolish person trusts that he is God. And the best news is you can ask for that kind of faith. You don’t have to muster up saving faith. God will give it to you if you ask.

02 Why does God Test our Faith? (James 1:1-8)

Key takeaways

Trials do not create faith. They reveal what kind of faith is already there.
The testing of faith produces steadfastness, which leads to maturity.
“Wisdom” in James 1 is a godly perspective on life, not guidance for picking between good options.
God gives wisdom generously and without reproach to those who ask.
Doubt here is refusing to commit, which looks like trying to trust God and keep a backup plan.

Trials test the quality of our faith, not our worthiness for salvation. When we persevere through hardship, our faith matures and we gain godly wisdom. James 1:5 promises that God gives wisdom generously to those who ask in faith, without reproach. The goal of trials is not to change our circumstances but to transform our hearts, proving our faith is real and anchoring us in the hope of the gospel.