My Dear Shepherds,

I’ve been spending time with Pastor James. You know—Jesus’ brother, the blunt one. He’s a fine pastor and mentor although he’s not given to small talk and doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor. But when it comes to discipling believers under pressure, well, he knows what he’s talking about.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2–4)

Most of the Christians we serve would love to rejoice in trials, but they can’t just turn on the joy of the Lord whenever they’re afraid, attacked, or grieving. They’d like to persevere, to become mature and complete, but they’re not sure how that happens. It’s like seeing the porchlight on a hillside across a dark, deep ravine without knowing how to find the trail to get there. So James tells them the way:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (v. 5)

Our people pray for wisdom for all manner of things, but nothing is more needful than God’s wisdom in trials. Trials stir confusion and tempt us to sinful behavior and handling them in Christlike ways doesn’t come to us naturally. But God promises a generous supply of his counterintuitive wisdom to all who ask.

And that’s where pastors come in. Believers lacking wisdom listen to us preach; they call us for counsel. We are our congregation’s trial guides. What they really want is miraculous relief. God in his great mercy does that sometimes. But what God promises to provide in trials is wisdom—how we are to understand, believe, and behave in the testing we face.

Pastoral work, in its many manifestations of Word and Spirit, leads people toward the wisdom they pray for. Teaching doctrine, for example, isn’t merely a lecture on Christian tenets. We are laying out paths of righteousness so they may walk safely through the minefield of life’s trials. Counseling is often the work of biblical reframing. To put it another way, we help a nearsighted brother or sister see the test before them through the clarifying lens of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

In his letter, Pastor James quickly gets down to frank wisdom-sharing for those stretched taut by trials. “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Or this: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” But there’s also this: “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

As it turns out, every tough and tender instruction that Pastor James writes to beleaguered believers is God-given wisdom for persevering in trials. It’s still what pastors do.

One time a dear sister called to ask if she could see me right away. She was in tears, having just learned that she’d been passed over for a job that seemed perfect for her. She was hurt, frustrated and unsure which way to turn. In that miraculous little way God has, three simple instructions came to my mind, distilled from Scripture: “While you wait for direction, here’s what to do,” I told her. “Trust God. Don’t sin. Get small.” That’s what she did. And God has rewarded her.

Be ye glad!

Lee Eclov recently retired after 40 years of local pastoral ministry and now focuses on ministry among pastors. He writes a weekly devotional for preachers on Preaching Today.