James begins his letter with a greeting to his audience, the Jews in dispersion. The Jewish people had been scattered all around the world as their nation was conquered by Assyria and Babylon, forcing them into exile. While some of the Jews returned to Israel, many of God’s people found themselves far from their homeland and their people, refugees in a foreign land. If that wasn’t hard enough, by following Jesus as Messiah, these Jewish believers were also persecuted by their own community, some even killed. These are the circumstances around James's opening words, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” How could James tell people going through the hardest time in their lives to have joy? How could he say that to us today?

The book of James is all about practical advice for how to live wisely and with integrity. All throughout his letter, James is encouraging Christians to endure whatever difficulties might come our way, knowing that God will use those struggles to help us to mature in our faith! Before we dive into the book of James, it will be useful to know a few things about James and what was going on when he wrote this letter.