Devotional 8 - Joy

            James 1:2 ESV says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Not many of us want to see the joy in the trials of life. I am sure Joseph in the Bible did not originally think that being sold into to slavery was a joyful experience. Then he was falsely accused of being an adulterer. After all the different bad situations he went through he truly counted it all joy when he forgave his brothers for selling him and even called his first child “God helped me forget”.

            As I was growing up I know that my parents had rough years financially. They would tell me of a Christmas where we had a little Charlie Brown tree. I didn’t even know the difference. Then in Colombia there were hard times with our support not coming in and other unforeseen obstacles. My parents never showed the struggles to me. We might not of had a lot during those years, but I remember spending Thanksgiving or Christmas at the street kids home a few times. In the rough times, my parents still found the joy in helping others. For an example, our first Thanksgiving in Bogota we invited over our new friends for dinner and we were only able to serve chicken. Even so that didn’t matter to my parents and friends. The experience and friends was the best memory for me.

            Recently our family has been struggling financially. This Christmas was going to be very small, but the good news is our daughter did not know the difference. All she needed and wanted was spending time with us. Thankfully some dear friends surprised us with some extra money to help with groceries and some gifts. During struggles, that I still have a hard time admitting to, I am finding the joy of these trials. The good news is that we will not always be at this place of struggle. The future will hold other trials, but right now we are learning to live on less than we ever thought we could. One day we can continue to live on less and any extra we have we can give to missions and others.

            What trial are you facing today? What struggle seems to overwhelming that you might not want to get up in the morning for? Remember counting it all joy maybe hard to do a first, but the joy will come! Even though you might need to count it daily or even hourly, God will bring you the joy that you need to stay steadfast during these struggles.