James’ Joy

James’ Joy“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV When my grandmother was having a bad day her favorite expression was, “It’s always something.” My mother’s was, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” Recently, I heard a friend, in the middle of a frustrating day, ask, “What else can go wrong?” The older I get, the more I appreciate these expressions of frustration. They are the statements of those who have learned to keep going in spite of repeated challenges. Another translation of the above verses from James substitutes “difficulties” for “trials” and “patience” for “perseverance” to help me get the message a little better. It’s good for me to learn that God allows trials in my day to test my faith. What’s difficult to learn is to find the joy in the midst of a day full of things gone wrong. You see, while my grandmother, mother, and friend passed on to me their favorite expressions for describing trouble-filled days, none of them taught me to see the joy in those days. I’m beginning to realize that the only way I can see joy in life’s problems is to see that Jesus is with me in them, through them, and in spite of them. After all, He did say, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). He also said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). I don’t look forward to trials, testings, temptations or troubles any more than the next person, but I really appreciate knowing – from James’ words “my brothers” – that they happen to all of us, and that the greatest Helper of all is there to see us through them. By Larry Ondrejack