Count It All Joy?

Count it all joy? Really? Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). Many verses in the bible are easy to receive. Promises of peace and protection delight us. Reminders of comfort and compassion encourage us. Words of strength and safety give us confidence. But a call for joy when we experience trials of many kinds? Not so much.

Most of us do not willingly seek pain, and usually try to avoid it. Though we prefer to escape all varieties of pain, we have to acknowledge that sometimes it is just necessary. Examples in the medical world come to mind. When something in our mortal bodies needs fixing, we endure surgery or other procedures, because we expect an improved outcome.

It is worth it financially to deny ourselves in the short term in order to create stability for the long term.

These worldly examples give a hint of what God is doing in us spiritually. In God’s economy, we can count it all joy. Hardships, trials, and unpleasantness are reasons to rejoice because we know God is working for our good. He uses trials to prove to us the genuineness of our faith. He uses trials to grow our character, so we will become more like Christ. He uses trials to allow us to learn things about Him we couldn’t learn any other way. As He carries us through hard things, we learn to know Him more intimately. We learn to trust Him in deeper ways.

We may get distracted about whether a trial is a temptation sent by Satan, or a test sent by God. It doesn’t really matter. It could be both. Satan sends temptations to destroy us. God uses tests to mature our faith. What matters is how we respond. Regardless of the source, God uses trials to accomplish His purposes, both in our individual lives and in the world. Our part is to resist the temptation to sin and open our hearts to the purposes of God.

To those who believe in Jesus and have submitted to Him as the Lord of their life, God promises to work all things for their good. When we are in Christ, everything is reoriented. We see life from a new perspective. Things that seem bad now, are referred to in the Bible as “light and momentary troubles” when viewed in terms of eternity. It’s not that this life isn’t important, but an eternal view keeps us from being too focused on the temporary things of this world.

The testing of our faith helps us to learn endurance and perseverance. The passage in James goes on to say that when perseverance has its full effect, we will be perfect, lacking nothing.
Somehow, the trials that test our faith are necessary for us to grow and develop. Jesus even said as much when He addressed His disciples in Matthew 18:7. For it is necessary that temptations come (ESV). Elsewhere He said, In this world, you will have trouble (John 16:33). The James passage continues with an encouragement to pray and ask God for wisdom concerning the particular issue we are facing.

Faith has to be tested. It is easy to trust God when life is easy. In a sense, all of life is a test. How will we react in adversity? Will we complain and lose faith? How will we respond in prosperity? Will we forget the God who provided the prosperity?

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we react. Will we turn to the world’s ways for help, or will we trust God’s provision? Will we lean into His character, and open our hearts to what He wants to reveal? God doesn’t waste suffering. Neither should we. If we understand God’s goodness, we truly can count it all joy when we experience trials of various kinds.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, Romans 8:28-29 NASB

How does it change your perspective to think you can count it all joy? Please leave a comment below.

Blessings,
Phyllis

© 2025 Phyllis L. Farringer

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