The Four-Wheel Drive Christian
Having lived in Oklahoma since we married in 1979, my wife, Lisa, and I have not had much need for a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Yet we gained an entirely different perspective on driving during one ten-month period we lived in Colorado. Several winter days we drove very tentatively—and prayerfully—in heavy snow while confident four-wheel drivers blew right past us. Their traction and grip on the road were far superior to ours in difficult conditions, and they weren’t slipping or sliding the way we were.
What was the difference? They had all four tires working for them, and we didn’t!
Spiritually speaking, God never intended for us to try to get through all the challenges and difficulties of life with only one tire providing traction. In other words, we were not designed to go through life relying on and implementing only one aspect of God’s Word. We are to look at Scripture from an integrated perspective—not an isolated one. Notice that Jesus said that man shall live “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), not merely by selected or isolated words of God.
Let’s illustrate this. The apostle James demonstrated how various spiritual forces can and should work together cooperatively, especially in hard times.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:2-5).
We might say that James was encouraging every believer to be a “four-wheel drive Christian.” In this passage, the four wheels he identifies are joy, faith, patience, and wisdom. These spiritual forces were designed by God to be complimentary and to work in collaboration with each other.
Martin Luther said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves never stands alone.”
Think about those four traits for a moment: joy, faith, patience, and wisdom. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to operate in only one of these areas, while giving no place to the others? For example, think how hard it would be to stand in faith and trust God, if you had no joy, were completely impatient, and lacked wisdom. Faith is wonderful and essential, but we need to embrace all the “cooperating powers” that God designed to work together for our benefit.
Joy
Joy gives buoyancy, vibrancy, and “lift” to our lives. Joy is related to cheerfulness, gladness, and rejoicing. According to Nehemiah 8:10, “... the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Acknowledging the significance of joy in conjunction with faith, Paul told the Philippians that he desired to, “...help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith” (Philippians 1:25, NLT).
It is important to understand that the spiritual force of joy is not based on circumstances. Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine” (ESV).
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” ( John 15:11).Speaking of the great challenges and adversity he knew he would face, Paul said, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy...” (Acts 20:24).
God’s love was clearly a prime motivator in what Jesus did for humanity, but we also find in Scripture that joy was a major impetus for Him as well. We read of the Savior: “...because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right-hand side of God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:2, GNB).
James’ statement to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials” is probably one of the most unnatural, counter-intuitive directives in the Bible. Note that James did not say “if ” you fall into various trials, he said “when.” James was realistic and wanted his readers to know that certain challenges in life are inevitable. How we respond to them is what really matters!
We need to remain optimistic, even in bad situations. I remember hearing a story about a behavioral psychologist who was doing an experiment to see how children handled difficult circumstances. A young boy was led into a small room containing a considerable amount of horse manure. Instead of reacting negatively with whining and crying, the boy became excited and happy, and actually began playfully digging around in the manure. When the psychologist asked him why he was so happy, the little boy joyfully replied, “With all this manure, there just has to be a pony in here somewhere!” I don’t know how true that story is, but what an optimistic attitude that boy had!
When we fall into various trials, our natural reaction is to complain, worry, and feel sorry for ourselves. When we have God’s perspective on the matter, we truly can count it joy because we have a confident expectation that God is working to bring us out victoriously on the other side.
The problems we encounter simply present us with a wonderful opportunity to see God work on our behalf!
Faith
In addition to joy, we must have faith. Faith is trusting God’s character and His Word. It speaks of strong reliance upon, stalwart confidence in, and a firm adherence to who God is and what He has said. The Bible says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).We live by faith (Romans 1:17). We are justified by faith (Romans 3:28). We stand by faith (2 Corinthians 1:24). We walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). We are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8).According to the Bible, so much of how we live our life is dependent upon faith. So what is faith? D.L. Moody said, “The best definition I can find of faith is the dependence upon the veracity of another. The Bible definition in Hebrews 11:1 is, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
In other words, faith says amen to everything that God says. Faith takes God without any ifs.
If God says it, Faith says I believe it; Faith says amen to it.” In a similar vein, Martin Luther once said, “Faith is the ‘yes’ of the heart.”
One of the great principles of Scripture is that of yielding your self-life and allowing God to live through you. Don’t think that you are supposed to fight every battle and conquer every adversity in your own strength. A huge part of faith is simply relying upon God. I love what Psalm 57:2 says: “I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me.”
The HCSB says, “I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.” There are times when God says, “The battle is not yours, but God’s,” and, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:15,17).
Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Don’t get down on yourself if you feel like you don’t have strong faith. Don’t look to yourself at all. Look to God and His Word; that’s where faith comes from. Faith won’t grow if you are focused on yourself—look to Jesus, and let Him be the Author and Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Your faith will be challenged. The apostle Peter said to Christians who were facing persecution, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT). Continue in faith even while it is being tested; keep your eyes on Jesus, and your faith will be tried and true.
Smith Wigglesworth said, “Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials.”
Faith in God will cause you to see trials as stepping-stones, not tombstones— as building blocks, not stumbling blocks.
Faith enables you to see the opportunity in each obstacle. As Hudson Taylor said, “All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestations of His grace, power and love.”
Patience
Patience (endurance) is what gives staying power to our faith. We’d all love it if every desired result was instantaneous, but we know that there is often a process involved. I believe that’s why Hebrews 6:12 tells us that it’s through “faith and patience” that we inherit the promises. Faith is our trusting God, and patience is our unwavering tenacity in doing so.
James says that “...the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4). Paul says something similar in Romans 5:3-4, “...we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Some people mistakenly believe that trials will automatically make them more refined, spiritual people. That’s not true. Paul was talking specifically to people who were standing in grace and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.
It’s important to understand that trials—in and of themselves—don’t make you strong spiritually any more than weights (in and of themselves) make you strong physically. It’s what you do against the weights—lifting them, using them to walk or exercise—that builds your physical muscles. And it’s what you do in the midst of trials—trusting God, rejoicing, persevering, and so forth—that develops your spiritual strength.
We’ve probably all known people who went through trials and tribulations and became bitter, disheartened, and disillusioned about life. The trials certainly didn’t make them better people. It’s how we respond to adversity—not the trial itself—that will determine whether we become bitter or better, whether we shrivel or grow.
That word patience that James uses is not a passive word; it does not imply inactivity or refer to miserably tolerating a situation. When you encounter trials, don’t just surrender and become resigned and apathetic; that’s not patience. Rather, this word refers to a “persevering endurance and continuance.” One commentary says patience suggests “...endurance or stamina. It also includes staying power that believers can have because they trust their God. Tested faith becomes spiritually tough and rugged.” Yet another commentary says this word means “steadfastness or endurance in the face of difficulties.” Kenneth Wuest translates the Greek word as “a patience which bears up and does not lose heart or courage under trials.”
Referring to the Greek word translated patience, William Barclay says, “Hupomonē is not simply the ability to bear things; it is the ability to turn them to greatness and to glory. The thing which amazed the heathen in the centuries of persecution was that the martyrs did not die grimly, they died singing. One smiled in the flames; they asked him what he found to smile at there. ‘I saw the glory of God,’ he said, ‘and was glad.’ Hupomonē is the quality which makes a man able, not simply to suffer things, but to vanquish them. The effect of testing rightly borne is strength to bear still more and to conquer in still harder battles.” Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
Real faith never runs up the white flag of surrender at the first sign of trouble. Faith comes out swinging!
Patience (or endurance) bolsters your faith, enabling you to respond to challenges with an attitude that boldly declares, “I will not quit!”We’ve studied what is involved with joy, faith, and patience, but what about the wisdom that James mentions?
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:2-5 (emphasis mine).
Wisdom
Wisdom is divine insight that enables us to make accurate and precise application of our faith. Some people say they trust God, but their very words, attitudes, and actions (or lack thereof ) undermine their faith and prevent them from achieving their desired results. Because of a lack of wisdom, they sabotage their potential success.
Let’s look at a hypothetical situation as an example. Zach says he is trusting God for increased financial provision, and he hopes he will receive promotions and raises at his place of employment. He even has joy because of his confidence. However, Zach is not punctual at work, is late completing assignments, and has trouble getting along with other employees. He fails to realize that because he doesn’t walk in wisdom, he is actually undermining that for which he is praying. It is not that God is unable or unwilling to bless Zach, but because Zack lacks wisdom or chooses not to apply it, he is sabotaging the very results he’s asking God to bring to pass.
The Book of Proverbs is known as the book of wisdom, and it contains many descriptions of the benefits of the wisdom of God’s Word.
Wisdom causes you to “dwell safely” and “be secure, without fear of evil” (Proverbs 1:33).
Because of wisdom, “discretion will preserve you” and “under- standing will keep you” (Proverbs 2:11).
Wisdom enables you to “walk in the way of goodness and keep to the paths of righteousness” (Proverbs 2:20).
When you receive wisdom’s influence, “length of days and long life and peace” will be added to you (Proverbs 3:2).
Wisdom causes you to “find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4).
Wisdom causes you to fear God and depart from evil, which will be, “health to your flesh, and strength to your bones” (Proverbs 3:8).
Following wisdom means “your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:10).
When you walk in the ways of wisdom, you discover that “length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:16-17).
Wisdom enables you to “walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble” (Proverbs 3:23).
Wisdom “will promote you” and “bring you honor” (Proverbs 4:8).
Wisdom causes “the years of your life (to) be many” (Proverbs 4:10).
Through wisdom “your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you” (Proverbs 9:11).
Those are some pretty amazing benefits of wisdom, don’t you think? And wisdom is ours for the asking! When I consider the statement by James —“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God... and it will be given to him”—it makes me extremely grateful that wisdom is available to us. And remember, James was talking especially to people who were in the midst of various trials. Perhaps James was thinking of people who were walking in all the joy, faith, and patience that they had, but who still needed insight to enable them to successfully navigate their storms.
God ordained that we be more than one-dimensional believers; He wants us to be four-wheel drive Christians! We’ve looked at joy, faith, patience, and wisdom, but in reality, these are only a few of the many attributes that God wants functioning in our lives. We have the privilege of walking in love, praying, serving, and enjoying fellowship with other believers. All of these have great benefits for our lives. Paul and Peter both promoted this cooperative, collaborative approach to the Christian life.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
…giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8).There are several ways we can look at these amazing principles. We could call them “the cooperating powers of God.” We could call this concept “the faith team.”
We can aspire to be “four-wheel drive Christians” who get good traction and are able to keep moving forward even in turbulent times.
Why? Because we’re continuing to experience positive momentum in our lives from all the wonderful things that God has invested in us, and we are able to keep moving forward through the storms of life. Don’t be a one-dimensional believer. Utilize as many of the tools and resources that God has given you in order to live an effective and victorious Christian life. *The author cites complete references in the book, Through the Storms.
