When life sucks.......

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4 ESV

Dear reader, I must confess something: this verse has irritated me so many times and confused me so much. When I was going through a trial, I felt so condemned if I wasn't all rainbows and roses, all jolly and smiles as my world fell apart like a house of cards. How do you be joyful when this just sucks?

Words are fickle and superficial. We go to a funeral, see them going six feet under, and turn to the ones mourning and say the famous words, "I am sorry." Nothing is wrong with this; we are trying to be comforting but don't really know how. To say "Count it all joy" is like hearing "I am sorry" when you have to return a loved one back to the dirt we came from. I still have felt this way about having to choose joy in the midst of mourning. It is not easy or for the faint of heart.

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy." Psalm 30:11

Joy is not a continuous smile on your face and laughing all the time. Joy is a fruit of the spirit that is first planted by Salvation, watered with tears, and bathed in the Sonlight of His presence. It is a characteristic of a believer, not an emotional yoyo that is dictated by whether we are feeling up or down. This is why it is continuous through a trial because it is part of who we are as children of Yahweh.

When life sucks, not if. We get to decide to either be in the state of our spiritual being or fleshly. Either the fruits of the spirit become more fruitful, or you rip up your beautiful garden with all the fleshly emotions of the human nature. Why does it say count it joy? Because the tests of our faith are what make it grow. If your faith is not being tilled up and worked on, is your faith even faith? Or is it the fast food style? Filling but not effective. Tasty but not satisfying. Quick but not lasting..

The rest of this verse shows why it's not about walking around all the time saying "I am good," when you really need to be honest and let the rain of the trial pour over the seeds of the Spirit so they can grow into steadfastness. And after that, you will be complete and perfect, lacking in nothing. But we first must let the times when life sucks not break us but grow our garden so we may reap the harvest waiting for us on the horizon!

Yep, a short one, but I think you get my point. If not, you will sometime ;)

Much love,

Elysa