Can You Find Joy In Your Trials?
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
James 1:2-3
It was September 2016 and we just got the news that my husband’s cancer had returned with a vengeance. I was devastated, terrified, angry, sad, and confused. We’d already been through this; why was God allowing it to happen again? The first time around we learned so much and grew so close to God. I didn’t see anything else God needed to teach me and my family. I accepted the first diagnosis and was ready to move on. I was not ready to put on my war uniform and do it all over again. Joy was so far from my thoughts the word did not even exist.
Can you relate to these feelings of despair? Have you been through or are going through a trial that you cannot imagine how you will get to the other side? Are you full of confusion and questions to God? Why did God allow this trial to happen? Luke 10:30 says “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell into the hands of robbers.” This is the kind of trial James is describing in this week’s passage. Things that happen that are completely out of our control. We are walking through life happy and carefree and all of a sudden we’re hit in the face with a major road block. Nobody wants trials and struggles to come their way, but in this life they are going to happen.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
As you read this verse, swap the word “feel” for “consider”. The word “consider” makes me think I have a choice on whether or not to choose joy in my trials and that is true, we do have a choice. Joy during your trials is a hard feeling to choose, we are human after all. We immediately want to go to our dark corners and spend some time there. We want to feel scared, sad, angry, self-pity, and resentment. Not only do we want to feel those feelings, we want to wallow in them for a while. But, James is telling us to immediately make the decision to choose joy and accept our trials.
The Greek word for joy is cara which means cheerfulness and delight. When we want to sink into sadness, we must choose cheerfulness and delight. The world teaches us to be calm and not show our emotions. Showing emotions shows weakness. Joyfulness is an emotion and God’s Word teaches us to let it shine for the world to see as we endure our hardships. While Doug was going through his cancer battle, he lived by the motto, "the only thing I can control is my attitude and my effort.” We can control our positive and joyful attitude.
James goes on to tell us through our trials we develop perseverance. Perseverance is so much more than patience. One definition for perseverance says “nerving oneself” another says “heroic endurance.” To have endurance is to continually rely on God, being persistent in your faith. Sometimes we may feel like we have perseverance but we are mistaking that for passion. We must be careful to know the difference between passion and perseverance. Perseverance will withstand time when troubles come and passion will dwindle. We learn and earn perseverance when we allow God to guide us through our circumstances. Then and only then will perseverance have its perfect work.
As we earn perseverance through our many trials, we become more mature in our walk with Christ. Each trial we go through, we learn and grow in a new way. We see God’s love, faithfulness, and promises. We see that He never leaves us or forsakes us. As we strive for perfection in our lives, this perfection will only come from full maturity with Christ when we will are complete, lacking nothing. We will only get to that point by allowing God to develop us through our trials here on earth. So, one day, we will meet Him face to face in a mature state.
This picture above shows true joy. We had just pulled into our driveway from living in Houston, TX for three months while Doug was treated with a stem cell transplant and you can see the joy radiating off my family’s faces. At the beginning of this second round of cancer I did not think God could teach us anything new or we could not rely on Him anymore, but He proved me wrong. God drew us closer to Himself, spiritually matured us, and enveloped us in His loving care more than I could imagine. He helped us persevere through our trial and helped us find joy in all circumstances. He forever changed my thinking, my attitude, and my choice of choosing joy. May you allow God to develop you through your trials into a stronger, more mature Christian.
Digging Deeper:
Read James 1:2-8, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1-3
Recall a time you fell into hardship.
What does maturity and completeness in Christ look like to you?
Do you need to change your attitude to joy in your recent trials? Ask God to help you see joy in all circumstances.