2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation:
3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Whenever various trials present themselves to us we are told to count it all joy.  We know this is the opposite of our human reaction in the flesh.  When difficult times come the first reaction in the flesh is to respond negatively with grief or anger.  But James says to "count it all joy".

We are to do so knowing that the trying of our faith works patience.  So we know when we go through difficult times our faith is tried.  And as a result of our faith being tried, patience is produced, or rather can be produced if we allow it.  Notice He doesn’t say that the reason for the trial is to bring patience.  But he does say that a benefit of the trial will be the patience that comes as a result of our faith being tried (if we allow it to).

But we must let patience "have her perfect work."  We must not become impatient with our patience.  As we continue in patience during the trial the result will be our becoming perfect and entire, or perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  Lacking nothing!  If we continue in faith and patience during a trial we will come out in the end without lack!  But we have a major part to play in this.  We must continue in patience.  If we don’t, we can’t blame God for not working things out for us!

There is a double benefit to this.  One is that when patience has her perfect work in us, we do not lack even if there’s lack in our life.  We are perfected in patience and content and satisfied even in the midst of a difficult circumstance.  The other benefit is that the end result of the situation will be that there’s no lack because the need is met, the problem is solved.  The answer was able to come because we continued in faith and patience and didn’t give up.

So we can be joyful in the midst of difficult circumstances knowing that even though that circumstance is causing our faith to be tried, if we continue in patience we will end up without lack!

Confession:

I will count it all joy whenever I’m confronted with difficult times.  I will continue in patience and remember that when my faith is tried, patience will bring about my perfection and completion so there’s no lack in my life.