²Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

This verse doesn’t make sense. How am I supposed to have joy when I’m going through a trial? My instincts are telling me to panic. My heart is racing and fear is rising. My gut is flipping over itself. I don’t feel joyous. How is this even remotely possible?

James speaks to us in our trials and says consider it pure joy. He doesn’t say feel differently about your trials; he says think differently. Think by faith instead of by fear. Instead of letting the fearful thoughts drive, we let faith drive our thoughts. It’s a discipline of the mind and a commitment to filtering out negative thoughts.

Okay, how should I think differently about my trials? James says consider your trials a joy because God uses the trials to bless you in the long run. In the plan of God, trials become opportunities for growth and transformation. We start with small faith, but we end with courageous faith. We start unwise and we become a wiser person. We start immature and we end up with maturity. This is the blessing of trials in our lives, if we walk through them by faith.

See the word “mature” in the verse. God our Father doesn’t want us to stay babies in our faith. He wants us to grow up in faith and righteousness. If we never have trials, then we never have to put our faith into action. It’s like never going to the gym, but still expecting to be strong. That’s not how it works. Maturity doesn’t happen without growing pains.

Imagine a soldier going off to war without going to boot camp. That soldier would be in for a rude awakening and wholly unprepared for the battle. He might panic and flee under pressure. Soldiers go to boot camp so that they learn perseverance under intense pressure. The trials of boot camp prepare them for the battlefield. Their success in the battle begins in the trials of boot camp. Likewise, God allows us to walk through trials so that we’re prepared to stand firm and experience victory in the battles of life.

In 2013, shortly after our first son was born, my wife had to go to the ER with a perforated ulcer in her digestive system. This means that there was a hole about the size of a pencil that was allowing bile to spill into her body cavity. She was literally dying before my eyes and in intense pain. If the doctors didn’t help her, she wouldn’t make it.

In those desperate hours I was so afraid that I was going to lose my wife. If I am honest, my faith was weak. I didn’t keep my focus on God. The whole experience exposed me. It mainly exposed that I had been living life by my own resources and not depending on God.

Looking back today I am thankful for that trial. I’m especially thankful that they were able to save my wife, because she is precious to me. But, I’m also thankful because God used that trial and the months that followed to build my faith and perseverance. He took me to faith boot camp. I honestly didn’t like it one bit and don’t want to go back. But, I’m ultimately thankful and still count it a joy. That hard episode gave me a wealth of resources that I’ve been able to call upon through even greater trials.

Perhaps the joy isn’t just in the growing, but also in those last words “complete, not lacking anything”. That sounds very nice. When we are mature in Christ, then we realize that in Christ we have everything we need. We have the very person of God on our side. We have the Lord. He is the prize. He is our joy. He is the reward. When we are stripped of everything else, then we see clearly that he is truly all we need. If we have him, then we have everything.

Are you facing a trial right now? Pray for God to strengthen your faith in the midst of your trial and teach you perseverance. Commit yourself to choosing faith over fear. Capture unhelpful thoughts and dispose of them. Then, keep only what is true and helpful. Keep your focus on the Lord and remember that God does some of his most powerful and transformational work through trials. So, count it a joy brothers and sisters!