James 1:2 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
² Consider it all joy, my brothers,^[1] when you encounter various trials,

James starts his letter by asking that these believers consider the trials that they were currently going through. James wanted his readers to think about why they were having their trials, which referred to any trial that took place in their lives so that his readers would have the proper perspective of the trial before they can actually know how to handle them when they come. Once they had the proper perspective of their trials, they could consider it all joy. The Greek word for joy is chara, which means to have “joy or delight (Vine, 1996, pg. 335).” The joy is not in the fact that one is going through the trial, but rather in what that trial will be able to produce in their life. James wants his readers to realize that if they can understand that God is the one who allowed imperfection to come into humanity for a particular reason, then they can consider any trial with a response of joy, that is, an opportunity for them to show an evident demonstration of their faith. Do not believe that God placed these trials here to grow their faith, but rather, because the trials (difficult times) are here because of human imperfection, here was their opportunity to grow from the difficult times.

[1] Both brothers and sisters

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