James 1:2-11

2My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you.

3God wants to see if you really trust him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles.

4So you should continue to trust God all the time. Then you will become stronger as a believer. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more.

5But maybe you need to know how to be wise. Then ask God to help you. He is ready to give everyone what they need. And he never says that it is wrong to ask. So God will help you to be wise.

6But when you ask God for something, you must trust him completely. Do not have other ideas in your mind. People who are not sure that God will help them are like the waves in the sea. The wind blows the water one way and then it blows the water another way.

7A person who is like that never knows what to do. He has many ideas in his mind. He should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.

9The believers in your group who are poor should be happy. Why? Because God says that they are valuable to him.

10And the believers who are rich should also be happy. Why? Because God has shown them that they are not so great. Rich people should remember that they will die, like a wild flower quickly dies.

11When the sun rises, its heat causes plants to become dry. Their flowers fall to the ground. They are no longer beautiful. In the same way, rich people will die when they are busy in their work. Then they will have nothing.