Count It Joy?

Pause & Reflect

James writes: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” He does not say pain itself is pleasant. Joy comes from recognising what God can produce through tested faith. Trials reveal whether our trust has roots. They develop endurance that cannot be learned merely by reading about endurance. This does not mean we need to celebrate injustice, abuse, illness or loss as though evil were good. We can grieve what is painful while trusting God to work in us through it. Joy and sorrow are not always opposites in Christian life. Sometimes they coexist. You can say: “This hurts—and God is still at work.”