For Full Effect

Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
— James 1:2-4 ESV

“…let steadfastness have its full effect.” That little three-letter word ‘let’ startled me in this verse. It sounded so… passive. In a sense, I liked that because it evoked a picture in my mind of being wholly submitted, as if laid on the altar.  

The Greek word that’s translated ‘let’ here is echō meaning

 to have, to involve

Additional food for thought before I get to my point:

• Beth Moore noted in her James study that ‘count’ or ‘consider’ tells us that this requires our minds; it’s not a feeling of joy.
• ‘Perfect’ means ‘complete’ or ‘mature’ in our faith.

Essentially, then, these verses would take on meaning something like

Count your trials as joy knowing they produce perseverance. Have perseverance because it matures you.

Herein lies the redemptive power of God in our trials: they produce maturity and are His tools of sanctification, gently coaxing us into greater likeness of Christ as we press through the hardship.

This word is anything but passive. It is, rather, an active, intentional verb that involves every fiber of our mind and body to employ — especially in the face of trials.

My prayer for each of us is that we might know God’s sovereignty and goodness well enough to count whatever struggle we’re currently facing as joy — joy because of the maturity it will produce as we let perseverance do its work in us.

Press on, friend, press on.