Joy in Suffering

Have you ever gone through a trial and wondered how in the world you were ever going to make it through to the other side? Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt alone, when you may have even questioned God, wondering if He had forgotten about you and this difficult circumstance that you were walking through? In the midst of such times, the Bible exhorts us to “count it all joy” because this “testing of [our] faith produces steadfastness.” But can we really be joyful in our times of suffering?

This joy that James is describing is not a temporal happiness that comes from the world. It is not an easygoing smile or a lighthearted feeling that comes and goes with the circumstances of our lives. This joy is a deep and abiding happiness that can come only from spiritual maturity as we walk with Christ on a daily basis through various trials. It comes from putting our trust in the sovereign God who is known for giving His children good and perfect gifts (see James 1:17).

There was a time of trial in my life recently that was a test of my faith. My husband and I had longed for children for many years. In God’s sovereign plan, He had closed my womb and not blessed us in this way. It was an agonizing time in our lives as we watched many of our friends begin families while we remained barren. But the Lord used this trial to strengthen our faith and trust in Him. He taught me how to rejoice in others’ blessings and how to be patient as I waited on Him to fulfill the desires of my heart. It was not always easy, but the Lord was faithful to give us the perseverance that we needed to get through this difficult time.

After eight years of marriage, the Lord decided to give us the gift of adoption. We adopted our first son from Kazakhstan and were overwhelmed with God’s blessing in our lives. Two weeks after we returned home, I found out I was pregnant with our second son. Today they are best friends and my constant reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness in my life, a reminder I need every day as we now wait for our third child, through adoption yet again.

Lord, help me to be joyful in our suffering, not because it feels good or because I always like it, but because my faith, hope, and trust are completely in You, and You are the One who is completely in control of every detail in my life. Amen.