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Count It All Joy
The
SECRET To Thriving In Any Circumstance
by Stephen Altrogge
In James 1:2, James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various
kinds…“
This is a
staggering command. When we face trials, we are NOT supposed to…
…
complain.
… doubt.
… fear.
… be
angry.
… be
discontent.
Instead,
we are to count it all JOY when we face trials. This is so contrary to what
we want to do in the midst of trials.
So often,
we want to complain and moan and get frustrated when we find ourselves
knee-deep in trials and tribulations.
We feel
like we simply can’t be happy until the trial is over. We want to get OUT of
the trial as fast as possible.
And yet
Scripture commands us to count it all joy when we find ourselves swimming in
the rough waters of tribulation.
We’re
called to count it all joy when our path takes us through fiery trials.
This
raises a hugely important question for us: How can we count it all joy
when we go through trials?
Let’s
look at what Scripture has to say.
Count It
All Joy Through the Power of Christ
In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul writes:
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and
every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
If anyone
went through trials, it was Paul.
He was
shipwrecked. Beaten. Thrown in prison. Nearly stoned to death. Violently
opposed almost every time he tried to preach the gospel.
In spite
of all this, Paul knew how to count it all joy when he encountered trials of
various kinds.
When he
and Barnabas were thrown into prison, they sang hymns of praise to God.
When Paul
was shipwrecked, he joyfully proclaimed the gospel to his captors.
When he
was stoned, he went back into the same city to
proclaim the gospel yet again.
Clearly,
Paul knew something that most people don’t.
So what
was his secret? How was he able to rejoice always in his trials?
It was
through the power of Jesus Christ. Paul was able to joyfully endure trials not
by his own strength, but through the strength that Jesus Christ provided him.
He could
do all things, including rejoice in trials, through Christ.
If we’re
going to count it all joy when we go through trials, we too must depend solely
on Jesus Christ. He alone can give us the endurance we need to stand firm in
the face of fiery trials.
We just
regularly pray to him and ask him to support us as we walk through the Valley
of the Shadow of Death.
We must
run to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace in our
time of need.
The simple
truth is that we cannot make it through trials apart from Jesus sustaining us.
And the wonderful news is that he WILL sustain us through trials.
As it says in Jude 1:24, “Now to him who is able to keep
you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his
glory with great joy…“
Jesus is
our hope. Our strength. The one who holds us fast through trials.
It is
through Christ alone that we can count it all joy when we face trials of
various kinds.
Trials
Produce Steadfastness
The
second way that we rejoice always in the midst of trials is by recognizing that
God produces massive amounts of fruit in us through trials.
God uses
trials to make us more like him. To shape into the image of Jesus. To help us
grow in ways that we never would otherwise.
One of
the main ways that God uses trials in our lives is to produce steadfastness.
As James says, “…for you know that the testing
of your faith produces steadfastness.“
What does
it mean to be steadfast? It means that we’re unshakeable. That we aren’t easily
rocked.
That we
are strong in our faith and able to stand firm even when we find ourselves
going through difficult times.
That our
love for God stays hot even when the blizzard is raging around us.
When we
lack steadfastness, we don’t honor God. We grumble and moan our way through
trials.
We act as
if God has deserted us. We don’t trust God to do good to us in the midst of our
struggles.
We forget
that he is working all things for our good and his glory.
When
we’re steadfast, we produce fruit in all circumstances, not just when things
are going well.
We’re
like the man in Psalm 1:
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit
in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
The
steadfast person is like a tree with deep roots that is constantly being fed by
a stream. It cannot be easily blown over.
Its roots
are sunk too deep. The steadfast person has their roots sunk deep into God and
is not easily blown about by trials.
We can
count it all joy when we go through trials of various kinds because we know
that God is producing steadfastness in us.
Count It
All Joy Because Steadfastness Produces Perfection
On the
surface, the next words that James says can seem a bit strange.
He says, “And let steadfastness have its
full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Did you
catch that? James says that ultimately, the steadfastness that is produced by
trials leads to perfection. What can he
possibly mean by that?
It seems
that James is saying that the longer we persevere under trials – the more we
count it all joy – the more steadfast we will become.
We will
produce ever-increasing fruit and become more and more like Jesus Christ.
Ultimately,
our steadfastness has its full effect. The full effect of
steadfastness is that we persevere until Jesus returns.
Think of
it like this. The more we count it all joy in the midst of trials, the more
steadfast we become.
The more
steadfast we are, the more fruit we produce in the midst of trials, which leads
to more steadfastness.
As we
become stronger and stronger in our faith, we persevere. If we persevere until
Jesus returns, he will finally make us perfect.
Does that
make sense?
The
perfection that James refers to the perfection that Jesus will produce in us
when he comes back.
Isn’t
that good news?
As we
count it all joy in the midst of trials, our ability to persevere is
strengthened, which will ultimately lead to us being totally and completely
conformed to the image of Christ.
I’ve seen
this worked out in many older, faithful saints. They have been steadfast
through many very difficult trials.
Every
time they emerge from the trial, they are stronger in Christ than they were before.
They have learned how to lean on Christ and trust him in every circumstance.
And so
trials don’t shake their faith. They aren’t easily thrown, aren’t easily
tempted to doubt God.
They have
learned how to be steadfast even when the waves wash over them and the fire
licks at their feet.
God Will
Finish The Work
God
commands us to count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds. This is part
of the way we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
But as we
seek to rejoice in the midst of trials, we can know that ultimately God is the
one who is working in us. He is the one perfecting us, and he is the one who
will finish the good work in us.
If our
salvation hinged on our ability to count trials as joy, then we would lose our salvation. Because there’s no way we can
perfectly do that.
That’s
why our hope must always be in God’s work in us.
As it says
in Philippians 1:6:
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will
bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
So yes,
we must count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.
But we do
this with the rock-solid confidence that God is at work in us and that he will
bring to completion the glorious work he began.
Stephen Altrogge
I'm a husband, dad, writer. I created The
Blazing Center and have written some books which people seem to like. You can
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