No one wants to go through trials and suffering. But for the Christian we are able to do the most unworldly thing imaginable – we are able to rejoice in our suffering. And since the Bible tells us in (James 1:2): “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,” and in (1 Thessalonians 5:16): “rejoice always,” it must, therefore, be possible. But how is this possible?
Well, in the natural this is indeed not possible, but as Christians we are able to put on the supernatural through the working of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit and show the world that we can indeed rejoice in suffering. I like what John Piper shares on this point: “People are not prepared or able to rejoice in suffering unless they experience a massive biblical revolution of how they think and feel about the meaning of life. Human nature and American culture make it impossible to rejoice in suffering. This is a miracle in the human soul wrought by God through His Word.”[1]
While our feelings will not always be positive as we endure various trials and sufferings, joy is so much more than good feelings. I like to define joy as that calm assurance that we know deep in our soul that God is working all things for good for His children as we walk in obedience to His will. Joy believes that God knows best how to use us to bring glory to His name. Joy views problems as opportunities to bless others and showcase God’s goodness to a broken world. And joy comes about as we focus our attention on the treasures we are accumulating in heaven as we go through suffering.
And not only can we rejoice in suffering but having the knowledge that joy is often a by-product of suffering can help motivate us to continue to endure the trials we go through in life. We see a great example of this in the life of Jesus. For we read in (Hebrews 12:2): “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Here we see that Jesus looked down the corridor of time and saw how His going to the cross would bring salvation to millions. As a result, this awesome joy gave Him the strength to go to the cross.
My friends living with continual joy is not only possible but for the Christian it is the essential fuel we need to provide us with the strength to endure the trials of life. While we can’t always be happy since happiness is based on positive circumstances, we can always be joyful since joy is based on our obedience to the will of God. I also believe that as we manifest a life of continuous joy, we will attract others to Christ because they will want the joy and peace, we as believers in Christ manifest to a world lacking both of these precious fruits of the Spirit.
[1] https://www.azquotes.com/author/11695-John_Piper#google_vignette
“No one wants to go through trials and suffering. But for the Christian we are able to do the most unworldly thing imaginable – we are able to rejoice in our suffering.”
God loves us so much he wants to honor our longing to have hope; therefore, he has plowed a path in front of us to reach the goal of always being hopeful. It’s not a path we would have chosen but it’s the only one that works.
“Hope” is the direct result of good “character” (who knew?) but this kind of character has to first be developed by “endurance” through everything life throws at us, but the best way to develop endurance is through our “suffering.”
Wow, what human would have thought of this progression to the ultimate goal of having hope? If we didn’t know that God’s thoughts are above our thoughts, we would think this was the plan of a crazy person.
Our suffering leads to the kind of endurance that builds character, resulting in mounds of hope. That can take a long time. In the mean time, our job is to “rejoice” in our suffering because we know where it leads. This requires trust and faith. “Thou you slay me, I will trust in you,” said Job, no stranger to suffering.
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:3-5)