How to find Joy in the middle of Trials

One Incredible Verse
The little letter of James is filled with remarkable instructions, but none so striking as:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (1:2)

If it wasn't in the Bible, one could scarce believe it was from the mouth of God, for it contains an apparent contradiction. Our first response to trials is almost always tears and sadness. But here we are being asked - no commanded - to consider them the opposite - Joy!

What's the answer to this apparent conundrum?

First, James is not condemning us for our tears. We should not experience trials of many kinds. Trials are the result of the fall, the curse, the spoiling work of Satan in God's perfect world. It is natural to weep over sad events, difficult circumstances, sorrowful happenings. James is not condemning our natural "first reaction" to trials.

Second, James uses a word translated "consider" taken from the world of accounting. Translators who translate the word "count" do well; "Count it all joy". Just a you might sit at a table filled with money and using your mind start counting this pile, then the next, so he wants us to pause and count up certain things. He wants to think about our trials in a certain way. And if we count them up in this particular way, then they will lead to joy.

The Reasons for Joy
He then tells us why, after the tears, now using our minds, we should reckon trials to be "pure joy".

Reason for Joy #1 - Trials make your faith stronger. He calls trials "tests of faith" and all tests of faith result in stronger faith. Now of course, we may not feel that a particular trial has made us stronger believers. I know one Christian who tells me that after a series of trials with her eldest daughter she felt her faith was weaker, not stronger. Until she realised that - no! - before the trials what she called "faith" was a big mixture of faith in God plus faith in husband, faith in intellect, faith in doctors, faith in money, faith in family and faith in church friends (Oh yes, and a little bit of faith in God too!) The trials had stripped away all this fake "faith" leaving her with what looked like smaller faith, but what was now, in fact, purer faith.

Why be joyful in trials? Because these trials WILL make your faith purer and stronger.

Reason for Joy #2 - Trials develop the precious gift of perseverance. Odd one this. "The testing of your faith develops perseverance." Thinking naturalistically you might have thought that hardships would make you want to give up! But no, God uses hardships to build perseverance, patience, endurance, longsuffering. And perseverance is an essential Christian virtue - because the Christian life is hard.

Why be joyful in trials? Because trials WILL build perseverance.

Reason for Joy #3 - Trials make you a mature believer. "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything..." Trials and Testing and Perseverance do something very deep in the human soul, something which results in spiritual maturity. There are no short cuts to spiritual maturity - all of them lead through the valley of suffering.

Why be joyful in trials? Because trials ARE growing us up.

Now can we see why trials - not that immediate tearful response, but that slow, considered, rational reflection upon them - can result even in joy: and not any kind of joy, but pure joy, or all joy? Because, bottom line they are doing us good. The trials may not be good. But they are working within us something good.

Something we cannot see
The problem with all of this is that we cannot often see the fruits of trials in our lives. We cannot see the purer faith, the surer perseverance or the greater maturity. (Often others can, but we can't!). It's here that we must believe the word of God. These things are happening!

May the Lord increase our faith - and thus increase our joy.