Have your Bible ready to reference scriptures used in this study. The video version of this lesson can be seen on YouTube under the title above.

When trouble comes our way, there are several responses that we could have to the troubles that do not increase our endurance or help us mature. Let’s look at a few of them before we go on with our study of James.

We could go into denial mode and refuse to accept that a problem exists. That would equate to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand when a predator approaches. Just because it can’t see the hungry lioness does not remove the danger. Denial mode prevents us from having any preparations ready for when a trouble arrives. It is arguably the most self-destructive response to any trial we experience.

All four gospels in the New Testament describe how the Pharisees refused to accept that Jesus is the Messiah. They refused to accept that they were burdens to Israel, instead of blessings. They could not believe that the old covenant was being replaced with a new one based on faith, instead of works. They denied they lacked what it took to please God.

That denial led to their intense jealousy of Jesus. Eventually, instead of welcoming Messiah, they plotted to use the Romans to kill him.

When trials come, we could also play the blame game and focus on trying to make the problem something created by someone else. This attempts to place the responsibility for dealing with the trouble on another person so we don’t have to deal with it. That response reveals we are not willing to take any responsibility for our own life situations. If a problem is someone else’s fault, then someone else should handle it.

In Genesis 3:12-13, Adam tries to blame Eve for his decision to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Then Eve tries to blame the serpent as being the one who caused her to eat it. Both Adam and Eve didn’t want to face their own responsibility in having disobeyed God’s command.

Another response to trials closely related to the blame game is adopting a victim mentality and attitude about our hard times. Victims believe the problems that come into their lives occur because of who they are, not what they choose to do. They believe they will always have bad luck and attribute success in the lives of others to good luck. They are passive in their approach to problems, never taking command of a situation because they think they are constantly destined to fail and have hard times. They think of themselves as perpetual losers.

Years ago, a TV program entitled “Hee Haw” existed. One of the comedy sketches it presented involved a song about being a victim all the time. The lyrics went something like this: “Gloom, despair and agony on me. Deep dark depressions, excessive misery. If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on me.”

All three of these responses to troubles result in a defeatist attitude in a person’s life. All three negative responses produce negative results. All three create people who are complainers, who feel the world is a terrible place and who are not thankful, much less joyful, in their attitudes.

Allow me to ask a serious question: Have you been guilty of responding to troubles through denial, blaming or becoming a victim? If you have, you can ask God right now to forgive your negative attitude and to help you develop endurance and patience so you can deal with troubles in a more positive way. Ask God to guide you and help you use your troubles to become more mature in your faith in Him.

In our next lesson on Saturday, we’ll look at James 1:5-8.

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