Count It All Joy

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds

James 1:2 ESV

I don’t want to be too cavalier here but isn’t this just the funniest phrase in the whole Bible? “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trails of various kinds.” Got problems? Good for you! Be happy about it!

-Didn’t get paid on time? Count it all joy!

-Boss turned on you and wants you gone? What a blessing!

-Heart disease? Yippee!

-Friends and family slandering you because You love Jesus? Score!

-The baby started picking and peeling all the paint on the trim in your new house? Thank you, Jesus!

It sounds silly to be grateful for the things that go wrong and the pressures that mount around us, but it all comes down to what the point of this Christian life is. If the point of being a Christian is to get to Heaven, then this verse makes no sense. There won’t be trials in Heaven! If the point is that we will have a more comfortable life then it doesn’t work either, but if the point is to become one with Jesus and be transformed into His likeness more and more then this verse makes perfect sense.

This verse like so many is confusing when viewed by itself but taken in context it helps us understand. There is more to this thought. There is a reason that we can be excited about trials.

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds ,³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Our faith is tested in trials! It is refined and grown and produces something in us, steadfastness. Rock steady, sturdy, predictable faith that we and those around us can rely on. That is what Jesus is like.

I tend to forget that God is not all that concerned with things going my way every day. In fact as I read the scripture, I see that He would be concerned if nothing ever went wrong! He has given us faith and allowed opportunities to use it and grow it. It really is His kindness even though it can be hard to understand.

I go to the grocery store every Thursday to get the bulk of our family’s groceries. The day of the week may be the same, but the state of my trunk seems to vary wildly. One week the trunk is empty and vacuumed but sometimes the trunk is stuffed with donations or other purchases I forgot to factor in and I’m rearranging watermelons and bags of fragile eggs between seats. You know that watermelon is going to roll and crush the eggs if I can’t organize and stack well.

It’s a silly example but it helps me understand. If I open the trunk and I have plenty of room, I thank God for helping me be organized and making sure it’s ready for groceries. If I open the trunk and stacks of things come tumbling out into the parking lot, I thank God that He will help me learn, wrangle my toddler as I run around the van, and give me joy. I get to learn patience and flexibility and trust that God can use it all.

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

Romans 8:28-29

Here’s a verse we love to quote all by itself. “God is going to use everything for your good!” and it’s true, but maybe we forget and think that “good” means comfort, prosperity, and constant success. Vs 29 shows us what “good” means though; being conformed into the image of Jesus. Don’t even get me started on how beautiful it is that we are gifts for Jesus. It’s too precious to put to words for me right now, but look at how we are being molded into His likeness to be His brothers and sisters. It’s wild!

There are all kinds of trials just like James says. Health, finances, relationships, legal, persecution, racism, violence, natural disasters, and yes, something petty like a toddler who is peeling every single piece of trim in my new house. I have had plenty of trials in my life so far. Some are irritations and some have brought me to my knees.

Lately though I’ve been looking at my trials with excitement and hope. I am curious about how God will use them and I am always shocked when I respond better than the last time. They are all opportunities to place my faith in God. To lean in and bring all my anxieties to Him. He always walks with me and changes me just a little each time.

So, I will start counting it all joy. Nothing can snatch me from God’s hands. Nothing can separate me from His love. Nothing can stop Him from completing the good work that He has started in me. If the point is that I have been reconciled to my Creator and that I am being conformed into the image of Christ, then I must learn to rejoice when the shaping force of trials comes my way.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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