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.

James 1:2-4

During tough times like many are going through now with COVID and its attending disruptions to life, we often hear James 1:2 quoted as an antidote to our pain. The question we should ask when this advice is given is, “Why? Why should I count trials as points of joy?” When I get the answer, I am still scratching my head. What? Because the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Why is that such a good thing? There is an effect that comes from being steadfast, it produces in us maturity (perfect) and completion (complete in all respects, consummate – Thayer’s Greek Lexicon), lacking nothing.

Isn’t that what most people want, to be lacking in nothing? Well, yes, but I believe for most of us earth-dwellers, lacking in nothing would immediately bring to mind things like food, clothing, cars, houses, money, etc. While all those things are good, I don’t believe that is what James had in mind when he wrote this. James says this state of “lacking nothing” comes to one who has various trials. We don’t usually tie various trials, which we would typically want to avoid, with being in a state of lacking nothing.

Is this principle taught elsewhere in Scripture?

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romasn 5:3-5


James says to count it joy when we fall into trials; Paul tells us to rejoice in our sufferings. That sounds parallel. James says it produces steadfastness, and Paul says it produces endurance. What’s the difference? There isn’t any. These are merely two different translations of the same Greek word, hypomone ΄υπομονη. So, Paul and James are saying the same thing; you obtain endurance or steadfastness by going through trials and suffering.


Paul’s version of “lacking nothing” is more detailed; he walks us through a series of character traits from endurance to character to hope, and that works because the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This isn’t a real popular teaching, but it is Scriptural. I would rather hear about how Jesus was anointed to proclaim good news to the poor. He was sent to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. It is a message about relief from suffering.

This is one of those crazy, seemingly contradictory mysteries in the Bible. Jesus came to set us free, but then our suffering and trials carry us to spiritual maturity.


In the teaching of both James and Paul, the first character trait called for on the road to lacking nothing is hypomone, endurance, or steadfastness. I have characterized it in the title of this article as hardheadedness. The idea is that I will stick with it no matter what. I have decided to follow Jesus even to death. Nothing will deter me. I am hardheaded about this. In reality, it is a deeply settled faith instead of a humanly devised hardheaded stubbornness or willfulness. It is this deep settled faith to follow Jesus through thick and thin, through good times and bad, that we progress to maturity. Follow Jesus whether he takes you to places of material prosperity or places of material want, both have their challenges, and our maturity or perfection depends on our hypomone, our hardheadedness to follow Jesus through it all.