Some times are hard, and we may not feel so blessed to go through those hardships. However, wisdom teaches us to rejoice when we meet those trials, revealing to us the happy outcome of standing firm in the trial: perfection (Ja 1:2-4). James puts it another way in v. 12: the man who remains steadfast under trial is blessed, because God promises to give the crown of life to those who love him.
The one who truly lives, who enjoys life completely, is the one who meets different trials and stands and stands until his love for God has been proven faithful. Until he has been perfected in love.
It is love that keeps a man steady when tested. When a seductress would ensnare a married man, love for his wife will hold him true (Pr 5:15-20). When temptation would turn us, love for God will keep him faithful (2 Cor 5:14). The man is truly blessed who has found his firm footing—a God to love who keeps his promises. He is happy when tested because he has found that trials are opportunities to prove and declare his love for this faithful God.
God has promised life—the crown of life—to the tried and true. What God wants in his people is a reliable love that endures, an honest devotion that sticks (Pr 19:22). That is what God intended man to be, and so those will be the kind of people to whom he grants eternal life: the people whose love for him is proven. How happy are we to have times of proving.
—Justin Dobbs