Count It All Joy

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

James 1:2

A child stands at the plate, bat at the ready. Her dad is on the mound, pitching slow and easy. It’s batting practice, and he’s trying to help his daughter improve her swing. Though he’s patient, and continues to urge her on with encouraging words, she’s tired and frustrated.

A swing and a miss.

She waited too long. She calls out, “That one doesn’t count!” another miss. She was ahead of the ball that time. “Let me try again!” A foul ball skitters into the backstop. The girl is close to tears. “That one doesn’t count either!” she shouts to her dad.

So the father calls for a break and sits down with his arm around his dusty daughter’s shoulders. “Honey, we’re not keeping score here. If you miss, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. This is just practice. You can learn from the balls you miss, as well as from the balls you hit. They all count if they teach you something about the game.”

As Christians, we often feel a kind of pressure to succeed. We want to get it right and give God the glory. But life has a tendency to throw curve balls, we’re hit with something we never saw coming, and all we want to do is put it behind us. But God has a purpose, even in our struggling times. When we long to shout, “That didn’t count! I want to try again,” James says, “It counts!” What’s more, count it all joy.

1. Jesus never promised that our lives would be easy. As a matter of fact, the New Testament seems unanimous in its assurance that we will have many trials throughout our lives.Acts 20:19 – “____________ the Lord with all _______________, with many _____________ and _______________” (NKJV)1 Peter 1:6 – “Now for a ________ ______________, if need be, you have been ___________ by __________ _________” (NKJV)James 1:2 – “My brethren, ___________ it all _________ when you _____________ into ______________ ___________” (NKJV)

2. What does Jesus use to illustrate the passing nature of our trials in John 16:21.

3. What does Jesus go on to promise in John 16:22?

4. When it comes to “counting it all joy,” we need to have this same forward-thinking attitude. The trials we face will be worth the end result―the promised joy that lies ahead of us. What was Jesus willing to endure for the sake of future joy, according to Hebrews 12:2?

Can you imagine what it would be like if no one was willing to endure a little hardship? What if Noah had decided that the whole ark business was just too much work for a man nearing his retirement? What if Moses had quit and gone home after just three plagues? What it Joshua decided to tiptoe past Jericho? What if Esther was unwilling to reschedule a manicure? What if David had declared that he didn’t like confrontations―especially with foreign giants? What if Solomon had asked for cash upfront? What if Daniel had decided it was easier to try to fit in?

5. The message that comes across for us seems to be, “Hang in there. It’ll be worth it in the end. What does Paul say will be ours if we can endure, according to 2 Timothy 2:12?

6. We are given a hint of what the joy at the end of our path will look like. What does John tell us is in our future, according to Revelation 21:4?

Ponder and Pray
This week, ponder what it means to count your trials as joy. We each have different struggles, so personalize this concept. What’s on your list? We all need eyes to see the bigger perspective in order to find joy in our trials. Pray that God will help you see things His way.

Adapted with permission from Contagious Joy, ©2006 Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. To purchase a copy of Contagious Joy, click here.