Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4 [NIV]

A few years ago, on a random Tuesday, I was pushing through a brutal set of Bulgarian split squats at the gym. After my last rep, as I set down the dumbbells and stumbled away from the Smith machine with a grimace of pain on my face, a man approached me. In the back of my head, I was thinking, He’s going to give me a pat on the back for finishing such a killer set! But boy, was I wrong.

“Smile!” he snorted, giving me an incredulous look.

Huh? I was baffled, and I’m sure my face couldn’t hide it. What in the world makes this guy think I’m having pleasant thoughts mid-workout?

Now, potential undertones of sexism in that interaction aside, the verse James 1:2-4 makes me laugh because it reminds me of this guy. Why is God gaslighting us (through James), and why does He think we can lean into joy when we’re suffering?

Pure Joy

The first crucial step to answering this question is understanding what is being asked of us.

At first glance, it might seem like we’re being told to be joyful, emotionally, when we face hardships. However, this is virtually impossible to do, at least genuinely, since we are wired with a natural negative emotional response to distress. We can’t just decide that we aren’t in agony when we’re exerting ourselves in a max effort sprint or suffering a broken leg. Sure, we can chant some mantras or plaster on a smile, but that can’t completely transform our internal experience.

After deeper reflection, I realize we are being called instead to recognize that joy will come in the aftermath of the trials, not necessarily to experience it in the moment. If you read this verse in various versions of the Bible, you’ll notice that none of them ever tell us to feel pure joy when we face trials – instead, they tell us to consider it pure joy, think of it as pure joy, count it all joy, etc. Max-effort sprints and broken legs aren’t gleeful in the moment, but they have the potential to bring phenomenal outcomes by shaping our character and capabilities.

In summary, joy is a lens through which to view our afflictions, not an emotional state that we must maintain throughout them.

Why We Face Adversity

Now that we understand how we should utilize joy when we face trials, another key takeaway from this verse is that it helps us understand why God allows them to happen. Do you ever catch yourself saying, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” It’s intentional, but not for punishment – He is deliberately testing our faith.

It’s also apparent that we have to face a multitude of hardships, since each one tests our tenacity in a different way. Sometimes we might be robbed of a career-changing championship by a bad ref call. Other times, we suffer a gnarly gash five miles into a ten-mile hike. God knows that our reactions will vary from one trial to the next, so He mixes in a variety to guarantee that our faith is constantly being challenged.

Mature and Complete

This hodgepodge of difficulties is what contributes to making us complete – we learn to persevere, no matter the circumstances. You may still be asking, though, what is there to be joyful for when we face instances like injury, failure, and loss?

Ultimately, the joy is in the growth that follows and the trust that we build in God that He will stay with us throughout these circumstances. For athletes, pain from exertion leads to increased physical abilities. For adventurers, the discomfort that comes when plans go awry in the wilderness helps us become more capable outdoorsmen. When we lose loved ones, we are reminded that life on earth is temporary, but our souls are eternal.

A powerful example of a hard loss leading to greater joy is the story of Navy SEAL and father, Adam Brown, detailed in the book Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown. Adam’s wish was that if he died, Jesus’s word would be preached fiercely at his funeral and memorial services. Because of this wish, many military men turned their lives over to God. Of course, this reality never took away the sting that Adam’s family and friends felt from losing him, but it puts things into perspective – God is always working in and through us for His greater purpose, and all the pain we feel in this life is temporary. This is what leads us to be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If that doesn’t resonate true joy, I don’t know what does.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

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