Dinner With JesusSample

Sometimes we hear this verse being used as a weapon: “You aren’t allowed to feel sad, frustrated, or angry when difficult things happen! The Bible says to be joyful!” But that’s not what James meant when he wrote to “consider it pure joy.” He wasn’t telling us to live in denial of our challenging circumstances or the feelings those circumstances might bring about. Instead, James was giving us a dose of perspective: it won’t always be this way.

The things that feel overwhelming and unredeemable won’t stay that way forever. There is joy on the other side, even if you can’t see it right now. There will be joy, even if there isn’t a joy in the middle of the trials. That’s okay. It’s coming, even if it isn’t experienced just yet. Keep going. That’s the perseverance James referred to. Trials may overtake us, but they don’t write the whole story. Just keep going.