You Do the Math

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

There are some Scriptures that, when I read them, I shake my head and say, “Impossible!” If it’s not number one, it’s way up there, when James wrote to count or consider every trial as joy. Seriously? I know the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I know it’s what God wants. But honestly, does the math add up?

Maybe the problem is we confuse joy and happiness. I don’t know, but it may have been harder if James had written, “Be happy about your trials.” Happiness is so fickle. It comes and goes with my emotional state. It’s an in-the-moment feeling.

Joy is a different thing altogether. You can’t conjure up joy at your whim. Joy comes from God. In some ways, joy is supernatural. It is a fruit of the Spirit, right?

That’s why I think only Christ followers would ever count trials as joy. It seems to me that if life were only about happiness, then trials would make no sense; they would be worthless. But if you are living for a higher purpose, if you see this short life from an eternal perspective, and if you understand that God is working in every circumstance to conform you more into the image of His Son, then you can get to that place of joy — no matter what!

Count it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face various kinds of trials. James 1.2