Be Joyful When You Face Trials

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV

Consider it pure joy… I know I’ve read that verse before. It’s not new to me. And yet, the other day when I read it, it was as if I’d never seen it before. Isn’t it funny how something can be so familiar to us, and then one day we see it with a completely different set of eyes as if seeing it for the first time?

James just so happened to be one of the books we were studying that week in our biblical class. It also, just so happened to be a part of a message on the radio one day during my lunch break. Think God was trying to tell me something? To say that it was timely, is an understatement.

A few weeks earlier, Joey and I had signed up to host a bible study for married couples in our home. The idea came after attending a marriage enrichment workshop at our church. We had the opportunity to speak to and help out a younger couple that we met. We felt we had some experience after twenty-two years of marriage to offer, and felt a calling, so we signed up to host a group.

Of course, right when we decide that we’re gonna participate in any sort of ministry, the enemy comes prowling around, waiting to see who he can rip apart. And he started attacking the week before our group started. Joey and I found ourselves very frustrated with each other. We argued over things that just didn’t even matter. Sometimes it wasn’t even clear what we were arguing about.

Finally, one day we sat down to talk about it. We knew this group was something that God wanted us to do and we know that when there is an opportunity for spreading God’s word, there’s going to be opposition. And we knew we needed to pray far more than we were arguing.

Which brings me to the above verse. I think we’re all okay with producing perseverance. But count it all joy when trials come? Umm, what? For whatever reason, this part of the verse never hit me like it did recently. But the more I thought about it, the more it changed my perspective about it.

I knew we were following where God was leading. And I knew my husband wasn’t my enemy. I knew the real enemy wasn’t happy with what we were about to do. So I could look at this and rest in the confidence that God had control of it. That brought me peace and joy. I knew that God would have his way and bring about his plan and whatever else he had in store.

Are you facing trials? Do you feel like you’re being attacked? I feel you! And I know that it can be so hard. But when I changed my perspective, knowing that God would use it all for His glory, it became something I could be happy about. It brought me joy! But it took prayer and knowing God’s word.

We can’t expect to face a battle and come out unscathed. And we can’t expect to survive without weapons and armor. You have at your fingertips the most powerful pieces of armor. Prayer and God’s word.

We’re in a battle daily. The enemy wants nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy. But God came to give us life and give it abundantly. And we can be joyful knowing that even when facing hard times, we don’t have to face them alone.

So take heart and immerse yourself in prayer and God’s word. He’s bringing about something good from this!