He rounded the corner, and suddenly he was surrounded by unexpected trouble. . There was no warning, no time for him to run away. . This is the message that James is giving about these trials. They are not something that we jot down on our calendar, or plan our week around. Not only are these trials unavoidable, but they're unpredictable. .
Trials come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
James is writing to a people who knew much about persecution, struggles, and trials. They were the 'diaspora', the scattered ones, who had lost their jobs, homes, and belongings. . Today, we may not face the same trials these early Christians faced. The things referred to here are not temptations sent by God, but trials allowed by God. Temptations are sent by the devil to make a person fall.