Verse: James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a]whenever you face trials of many kinds,
Devotion
I don’t know about you, but I find this verse extremely challenging. I can think of several times just this week alone that I didn’t find joy in the most trivial of trials. Those who know me won’t find this surprising at all 🙂 Whether it be a minor annoyance at home or problems at work, sometimes I find it nearly impossible to choose joy.
Sometimes we have a hard time remembering the big picture especially when trials come our way. This is a great reminder for all of us that we can experience joy even when things are hard. We can focus our eyes on Jesus and see all of the goodness that he has brought into our lives. Yes we are going to struggle, yes bad things are going to happen, yes we are going to go through trials. However, that doesn’t change the very nature of God’s goodness in our lives. He is consistent and good. It’s when we consider this we experience pure joy when we face any trial that might come our way.
We aren’t asked to pretend that there isn’t pain and trials. However, we are called to lean into God’s grace and love for us and to trust that he has us. We can also learn so much through the hard stuff. We can learn to trust in God’s goodness. We can lean on others that love and care for us. We can recognize our own weakness and brokenness and get healing. This is where the pure joy comes into play. Not that we have to be happy about hard things, but we know the hard stuff presses us in closer to God, to ourselves, and to others. And that’s when we know real joy.
Prayer:
Dear God, we are so grateful that we don’t have to figure this life out alone. We thank you that you are with us in the good times and the bad. We choose to trust in your goodness and care for us. We ask that you give us the strength to be able to lean in closer when it’s hard so we can experience pure joy. Thank you for who you are in our lives. Amen.
Author: Josh Robinson
Recent Comments