Count It All Joy! The SECRET To Thriving In Any Circumstance

In James 1:2, James says, “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…

This is a staggering command. When we face trials, we are NOT supposed to…

…complain.

…doubt.

…fear.

…be angry.

…be discontent.

Instead, we are to consider it pure JOY when we fall into various trials. This is so contrary to what we want to do in the midst of various trials.

So often, we want to complain and moan and get frustrated when we find ourselves knee-deep in trials and tribulations.

We feel like we simply can’t be happy until the trial is over. We want to get OUT of the trial as fast as possible.

And yet Scripture commands us to consider it pure joy when we find ourselves swimming in the rough waters of tribulation. We’re called to count it all joy when our path takes us through fiery trials.

This raises a hugely important question for us: How can we count it all joy when we go through trials?

Let’s look at what Scripture has to say.

What Does It Mean To Count It All Joy?

To count it all joy means that we see trials in a new perspective. Instead of seeing them as something awful to be escaped as quickly as possible, we are to see them as coming to us from the hand of our Father.

This completely reorients the way we think about trouble and struggle and tribulation? Instead of hating the experience of trials, we can use them to press closer to God.

Now, that obviously doesn’t mean that trials aren’t hard. So when we’re in the midst of the struggle, how can we find the joy of the Lord?

Count It All Joy Through the Power of Christ

In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul writes:

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

If anyone went through various trials, it was Paul. He was shipwrecked. Beaten. Thrown in prison. Nearly stoned to death. Violently opposed almost every time he tried to preach the gospel.

In spite of all this, Paul was able to rejoice though he encountered trials of various kinds. When he and Barnabas were thrown into prison, they sang hymns of praise to God.

When Paul was shipwrecked, he joyfully proclaimed the gospel to his captors. When he was stoned, he went back into the same city to proclaim the gospel yet again.

Clearly, Paul knew something that most people don’t.

So what was his secret? How was he able to rejoice always in his trials?

It was through the power of Jesus Christ. Paul was able to joyfully endure trials not by his own strength, but through the strength that Jesus Christ provided him. He could do all things, including rejoice in trials, through Christ.

If we’re going to count it all joy when we go through trials, we too must depend solely on Jesus Christ. He alone can give us the endurance we need to stand firm in the face of fiery trials.

We just regularly pray to him and ask him to support us as we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. We must run to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace in our time of need.

The simple truth is that we cannot make it through trials apart from Jesus sustaining us. And the wonderful news is that he WILL sustain us through trials.

As it says in Jude 1:24, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…

Jesus is our hope. Our strength. The one who holds us fast through trials. It is through Christ alone that we can count it all joy when we face trials of various kinds.

The Testing Of Your Faith Produces Steadfastness and Perseverance

The second way that we experience joy in the midst of various trials is by recognizing that God produces massive amounts of fruit in us through trials.

God uses trials to make us more like him. We know that the testing of our faith shapes us into the image of Jesus. It helps us grow in ways that we never would otherwise.

One of the main ways that God uses trials in our lives is to produce steadfastness and perseverance. As James says, “…for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

What does it mean to be steadfast? It means that we’re unshakeable. That we aren’t easily rocked. That we are strong in our faith and able to rejoice though we find ourselves going through difficult times. That our love for God stays hot even when the blizzard is raging around us.

When we lack steadfastness, we don’t honor God. We grumble and moan our way through trials. We act as if God has deserted us. We don’t trust God to do good to us in the midst of our struggles. We forget that he is working all things for our good and his glory.

When we’re steadfast in suffering, we produce fruit in all circumstances, not just when things are going well. We’re like the man in Psalm 1:

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The steadfast person is like a tree with deep roots that is constantly being fed by a stream. It cannot be easily blown over. Its roots are sunk too deep. The steadfast person has their roots sunk deep into God and is not easily blown about by suffering.

We can count it all joy when we go through trials of various kinds because we know that God is producing steadfastness in us.

Consider It Pure Joy Because Steadfastness Produces Perfection

On the surface, the next words that James says can seem a bit strange. He says, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Did you catch that? James says that ultimately, the steadfastness that is produced by trials leads to perfection. What can he possibly mean by that?

It seems that James is saying that the longer we persevere under trials – the more we count it all joy – the more steadfast we will become. We will produce ever-increasing fruit and become more and more like Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, our steadfastness has its full effect. The full effect of steadfastness is that we persevere until Jesus returns.

Think of it like this. The more we count it all joy in the midst of trials, the more steadfast we become. The more steadfast we are, the more fruit we produce in the midst of trials, which leads to more steadfastness. As we become stronger and stronger in our faith, we persevere. If we persevere until Jesus returns, he will finally make us perfect.

Does that make sense?

The perfection that James refers to the perfection that Jesus will produce in us when he comes back.

Isn’t that good news? As we count it all joy in the midst of trials, our ability to persevere is strengthened, which will ultimately lead to us being totally and completely conformed to the image of Christ.

I’ve seen this worked out in many older, faithful saints. They have been steadfast through many very difficult trials. Every time they emerge from the trial, they are stronger in Christ than they were before. They have learned how to lean on Christ and trust him in every circumstance.

And so trials don’t shake their faith. They aren’t easily thrown, aren’t easily tempted to doubt God. They have learned how to be steadfast even when the waves wash over them and the fire licks at their feet.

God Will Finish The Work

God commands us to count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds. This is part of the way we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

But as we seek to rejoice in the midst of trials, we can know that ultimately God is the one who is working in us. He is the one perfecting us, and he is the one who will finish the good work in us.

If our salvation hinged on our ability to count trials as joy, then we would lose our salvation. Because there’s no way we can perfectly do that.

That’s why our hope must always be in God’s work in us.

As it says in Philippians 1:6:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

So yes, we must count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds. But we do this with the rock-solid confidence that God is at work in us and that he will bring to completion the glorious work he began.


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Hey, I'm Stephen Altrogge. I'm a dad and published author. I've written for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, ERLC, Church Leaders, Crosswalk, and many more outlets. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook .

17 thoughts on “Count It All Joy! The SECRET To Thriving In Any Circumstance”

  1. I’VE LEARNED TO ASK THE LOARD TO PLEASE GIVE ME THE WISDOM ,STRENGTH,AND THE PATIENTS TO ENDURE ALL MY TRIALS,TESTING,AND TRIBULATIONS THAT COME before me,to never murrer,complain,are debate,but to learn from these experiences.

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  2. AMEN! PRAISE GOD! THANK YOU FOR THE BEAUTIFUL TRUTH! IF WE NEVER EXPERIENCE HARDSHIP WE WON’T HAVE THE TESTIMONY THAT GOD IS THE ONLY ABLE ONE TO BRING US THROUGH THEM THE MORE WE LEARN OF GOD THE MORE WE WILL TRUST AND BELIEVE HIM TO BE WHO HE SAY THAT HE IS ( I AM THAT I AM ) WHICH MEANS THAT GOD IS EVERYTHING WE NEED HIM TO BE FOR OUR LIVES JAMES 4:8 STATES IF WE DRAW NIGH (CLOSE/NEAR) TO GOD HE WILL DRAW NIGH TO US TRIALS COME TO DRAW US CLOSER TO GOD HE WANTS US TO TOTALLY DEPEND ON HIM AND HIM ALONE GOD DOES NOT EXPECT US TO BE JOYFUL IN THE MIDST OF OUR TROUBLES BUT HE DOES EXPECT US TO KNOW THAT THE REALITY THE NATURE THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR TRIALS WILL MOUNT UP TO JOY IN OTHER WORDS AT THE END OF THE DAY WE WIN! WE HAVE THE VICTORY IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR! HALLELUJAH! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

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  3. I want to thank you for this study in this count it all joy, because I wasn’t handling testing and trials very well. I praise God for you and these studies they have help me very much in my Christian walk. God bless you richly, and keep up the good work.

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  4. So very true. Its so easy for us to confuse happiness and joy. Happiness is incidental, fleeting. The root word for it is where we get the work Happenstance from.
    Joy is knowing the end result.

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  5. We are currently facing a genuine trial regarding our precious granddaughter and your words were very encouraging as I take joy in what GOD is allowing her to experience.
    (One oops, though-I believe it was Paul and Silas, not Paul and Barnabas.)
    I read and benefit from your blogs a great deal!

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  6. Count it all joy.
    Trials are one of the ways the sovereign Lord to drain the excess water in our wings to help us soar higher to fulfil our God given mandate on this earth.
    Just like the bamboo tree,it takes few years to solidify its roots before it rapidly shoot beautifully. Trials are for our own beautification. Many thanks.
    It is well.

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  7. This was certainly a timely article for me. I thank God for the reminder that He ultimately works all things for our good and His glory, and sees us through every trial. Nothing we may have to endure can compare to what he endured on the cross. And nothing we endure on this earth will compare to our eternity in heaven with the One who paid it all for us. God Bless!

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  8. Whenever we go through trials, remember, we are in Christ. Therefore, He is with us and in us and He already knew what would face us and the way out or through it. So we can know pure joy because in Him we have the victory already, and laugh at the enemy.

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  9. I really enjoyed this and I can use it as a constant reference. May God continue to give you insight to share with his people

    Reply
  10. You said….

    “Instead of seeing them as something awful to be escaped as quickly as possible, we are to see them as coming to us from the hand of our Father.”

    But the Scripture says…

    James 1:13 (KJV)

    “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”

    Conclusion:

    Not all trials come from the hand of the Father. Our Heavenly Father does not give His children trials, tragedies, and suffering to bring glory to Him. This is all part of life. However, in the midst of hardships we can count it all joy knowing that it can all work for our good.

    In our attempt to lead people to Christ, let’s not misrepresent His good nature and intent for us, lest we lead people astray from the Father’s love.

    Reply

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