As James, the “servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, continued to exhort the
people within the “twelve tribes scattered abroad”, he
told them not to “swear” at all but to let their “yes
be yes” and their “no be no”. In chapter five and
verse thirteen of his letter, James turned his attention toward those
who were “afflicted” or
“merry” among his readers where we read:
Is any among you
afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
The verse begins, “Is
any among you afflicted? let him pray.” James
began with the words, “Is any among you afflicted”
which in Greek is the phrase “kakopatheō tis
en hymin kakopatheō”
and means “is there
any person among them who suffer and endure evils, hardships and
troubles” “let him pray”
or “offer prayers, supplicate and worship”. Those who “suffered
hardships” among James' readers were encouraged to “offer prayers
and worship” to the Lord within them.
The verse goes on to say, “Is
any merry? let him sing psalms.” James
continued with the question, “Is any merry” which
in Greek is “euthymeō tis euthymeō
” which means “to put in good spirits, gladden, be made cheerful,
joyful or of good courage”? “let
him” which refers to
“the one who is merry” “sing psalms”
which means “touch or strike the chord, twang the strings of a
musical instrument so they gently vibrate and sing a hymn to
celebrate the praises of God in song”. The person who is “joyful
and of good courage” should “strike the chords” in songs of
praise to God.
When we
meditate upon these words of James, we see his instructions when we
find ourselves on both ends of the spectrum in circumstances and
feelings. Sometimes, though we are aligned with Jesus Christ, we will
suffer “afflictions”, and there will be other times, we
will be “merry”. In each case we are to obey James'
encouragement - “pray” when we are “suffering
hardships”, and we are to “sing psalms” when we are
“merry”. May the Lord Jesus by His Holy Spirit help us to
know how to manage our lives according to the circumstances we face
at different times, and may the world see our reactions as a witness
that we serve Jesus Christ with all our hearts.
Next
time James tells his readers what to do when they are “sick”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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