logic or faith?...

Faith versus logic; when you first look at what James is saying here in ch. 1 verse 2, it doesn't make sense, or so it would seem. After all what person in their right mind would actively seek out trouble. Any kind of trouble. After all you can have joy without trouble, in fact you can have your greatest joy when there isn't any trouble in your life...can't you? A trouble free life is a joyous life, isn't it? Andre Couch, a well known Gospel song writer (hope I spelled that name right) wrote a song a few years ago that says a lot about troubles and how we can learn from it. It goes something like this, "I've had many tears and sorrows, I've had questions for tomorrow, There's been times I've felt so all alone, But if I never had a problem, I'd never know that God could solve them, I'd never know what faith in God could do. THE CHORUS GOES ON TO SAY "THROUGH IT ALL ..I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God..." James, that man whom tradition says spent most of his waking hours on his knees in prayer knew what patience in times of testing and trials(trouble) was all about. After all he was the pastor of a church full of converts that were there because of persecution, many had fled Jerusalem because of it, in fact this letter that bears his name was written to those twelve tribes which had been scattered abroad. You can read it in his salutation in verse 1.
Read verses 3 & 4, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4/But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect(mature) and complete, lacking nothing." I don't like trouble, I do not look for troubke but there are times when it looks for me and I suspect it is the same for you. However there is a principle involved here and it is an exercise in faith that was commented on in the previous entry by one of my readers that pointed out that joy comes because we choose it. In other words we have to appropriate joy through faith...not logical you may think? But Biblical it is ..."count it all joy.