It's Just Joy

Consider it all joy, my brothers when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 
James 1:2-3

Consider trials JOY? What was St. James thinking when he wrote this?  Upon first glance at this verse we might be tempted to wonder if the beloved Saint put in a few too many prayerful “all-nighters” because surely he wasn’t serious about feeling joyful when the washer breaks, someone you love gets sick, the fuel pump on the car goes out or the sweet teenager in your home eats the last piece of peach pie you were hiding…I mean saving, in the back of the fridge!  Joy…I don’t think so!  And what about the really big stuff like losing your job or serious illness, surely he couldn’t have meant those things could bring joy. I suppose we could sit down and make a list of all the trials that have happened upon us in the past month and we would be overcome with many emotions, none of which would be joy!

The real meat of this verse is the part that explains what we can get in exchange for our trials…stronger faith and perseverance.  Do you remember when you were young and you went home from school and complained about that boy who pulled your pigtails or the girl who annoyingly pointed out your every move to the teacher?  The standard reply from home went something like this, “Well honey, if they didn’t like you they wouldn’t tease you.”  This verse has a little bit of that flavor to it don’t ya think!  God promised that we would have trouble…it is a guarantee, not a possibility.  Even though we’ve read those words more than once, trials still seem to catch us by surprise.  We sometimes even cop an attitude and think, “What, me…why me Lord? What have I done to deserve this difficulty?”  We might even get really sassy and say, “Oh, pardon me Father, but you’ve made a mistake, I’ve already had 8 serious trials this month, I believe this current dilemma belongs to the neighbor or even better, the guy who cut me off in traffic this morning!”

The simple truth is, if He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t give us trials at all.  Each difficulty or disappointment that knocks on our front door or barges right into our day is an opportunity to grow in trust or compassion or patience.  When we throw up our hands in despair and say, “Ok God, I don’t know how to do this…I don’t think I’m strong enough for this, please guide me and guard me and love me through it!” we will grow in faith and perseverance plus we will be blessed with grace and mercy. I think what St. James was teaching us is that any time we surrender to the holy power of God, that’s joyful, and the blessing is more strength, more grace and more faith for the next thing! It seems strange to thank God for the lousy stuff but that is what we are called to do.  We need to act like we are completely aware that He is about to do a might work through that trial if we would just stand back and let Him take us through it. 

A Seed To Plant: The next time a trial comes your way, stop and thank God for it and ask Him to show you the joy in the situation. 

Blessings on your day!