Count It All Joy!

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes the letter that bears his name. He begins with one of the most shocking statements in the New Testament. He tells us to “count it all joy when you meet trials.” We usually don’t put these two words together, joy and trials. We need to think through what James is and is not teaching here or it could lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

James is not saying that we should expect to find our trials to be joyful in themselves. We don’t have to celebrate our troubles or pretend that they are not difficult or onerous. Just like we can be thankful during tribulation we can be joyful in our trials. When bad things happen to us, we have the confidence that God is working through them for our good and his glory. The often-quoted Bible passage bears repeating, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) We don’t have to play mental gymnastics and call evil, good. We can see the good that God is bringing in our lives through trials. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, but years later he could say to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Gen 50:20)

In the same way, we do not necessarily find joy in suffering trials themselves, but we can find joy that God is at work in the midst of our trials. Notice what James says, “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” When we go through trials God is using them to produce something in our hearts, namely steadfastness. When we cry out to God and rely upon God in our trials, God builds us up and gives us more endurance. By God’s grace we can endure more today than we could ten or twenty years ago. We rejoice because God is at work maturing us.

God has set a goal for each of us to be conformed to the image of Christ. This means that we will be like him in our character, thoughts, attitudes, actions, and relationships. It is as if Christ is living through us, and our unique personalities have been filtered through Christ. This is what James tells us here. He says that this steadfastness will have its full effect making us into the man or woman God designed us to be. The idea of perfect is being who God has created us to be.

The next time you face a trial, rejoice. Not because of the trial itself, but what God is doing through that trial to make you more like Jesus.