James 1:2 - How to take joy in hard times

James 1:2 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials."

Keeping faith in God during hard times should be relatively easy if you know the truth and have the truth within you because you know that this world is just a flash in comparison to eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17) and that no matter what happens, nothing changes the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). However to remain joyful in that faith is a different matter and is much more difficult.

James 1:2 does not just tell us to remain faithful through hard times, but also to remain joyful in that faith. 

How can one take joy in a terrible bleak situation?

First, note James 1:3: ""knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." James 1 tells us to have joy during trials because the testing of faith produces patience. Therefore, James 1 is talking to those who already have a faith in Christ. It is talking to Christians, not to just anybody. For how could it be talking to somebody without faith? If a person is experiencing a terrible situation then it would not make sense for that person to be joyful, for they have nothing to be joyful about. No James 1:2 is talking directly to those who have faith in Christ Jesus.

It is this fact through which we are able to begin to discover how we are able to take joy in various trials.

The ability to take joy in trials depends on what you put your hope in and what mindset you possess. 

In Philippians 1:12-13 Paul, speaking from prison states, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ."

Paul suffered tremendous physical trials, from being blinded by God to suffering shipwreck near Malta, to being bitten by a poisonous snake, to being cast out by his own people and imprisoned for what he believed and for the message he preached. Most of the New Testament is written by Paul from behind prison walls, yet he was still able to not only remain faithful to God during these periods, but also joyous.

From reading the epistles it is evident that this was made possible through his mindset. For Paul knew the truth of the matters at hand and chose to focus on the things of God rather than the things of this world. Colossians 3:1-2 states, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set you mind on things above, not on things on the earth." 

Paul knew this world could offer him nothing to truly satisfy him, or anything permanent. Only in Christ can we find eternal fulfilment and refreshment. 

2 Corinthians 4:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."

In John 4:13-14 it states, "Jesus answered and said to her, "whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life."

Paul knew what mattered and what did not, which is why in Philippians 1:21 he states, "For to me to live is Christ, but to die is gain." He knew what was important, which is why in the passage in Philippians 1:12-13 stated above, Paul was able to take great joy in the fact that he had been imprisoned, because it resulted in the furtherance of the very thing which he took joy in and the very thing which he knew was important; the furtherance of the news of the Lord Jesus.

Returning to James 1 we can see this same principle in verse 11: "For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits."

As BACs we must attain the mindset of higher things; the mindset that this world and everything in it is fading away, but the gift of God is everlasting and unchanging. That is something to take joy in. Once we have this mindset we are able to be joyous in every situation, good or bad, for we know that no matter what happens, we will always be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord and He will never neglect us nor leave us. For this very reason Philippians 4:4 proclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice!"

This revelation is the basis for the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus in Matthew 5-7.

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore do no worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

Matthew 6:30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

Matthew 6:33-34 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles."

In essence: do not worry about this world, for I [Jesus] am bigger than all of it. Put your faith in Me.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways says the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Proverbs 20:24 "A man's steps are of the Lord, how then can a man understand his own ways?"

We can take joy in hard times because we have a hope in Christ who is working in us a more greater glory. Now this does not mean we will be happy in every situation. If something terrible has happened, it would be strange, even disrespectful perhaps, to be happy and all smiles. This is not what James 1:2 is telling us. For if we look at the the people of the Bible we clearly see times when they are not happy. Psalms is filled with desperate cries to the Lord. Christ himself was an emotional being, distressed in the garden of Gethsemane, angered by the temple, saddened by Lazarus.

It is not about being happy and smiley, but rather joyous and content in the knowledge that no matter what life throws your way, you will always be confident in the salvation of the Lord God, through Christ Jesus.

To those without faith in Christ Jesus, indeed there is not much to be joyful about in trials and tribulations. 

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near."

-BACChristian