<p>1:2 <i>Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations</i>- We must pray not to be led into temptation (Mt. 6:13); but when we fall into such temptation (s.w.), count it all joy, James says (1:2). The exercise of praying not to experience those temptations was for our spiritual benefit, and God is willing that it should be so. James exhorts us to count falling into spiritual temptation as a joy; instead of the 'here we go again...', 'sin after sin' kind of attitude descending on us as we sense such temptations approaching. We must instead rejoice that here is another opportunity to please God on the highest level possible; to have an evil desire in your heart and to overcome it. The idea of falling (&quot;When you fall...&quot;) may create the idea of giving way to the temptations. But there may be some degree to which we fall a little way before we are tempted: &quot;Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away (from his normal safe spiritual self, abiding in Christ) of his own lust&quot; (1:14). There is surely no real temptation if the evil desire appears so unattractive as to not even lead us part way towards realizing it. Thus the devil in the sense of the Lord's natural desires (Heb. 4:15 cp. James 1:14,15) led Jesus away from His own supreme spirituality to tempt him.</p>