joy in the darkness

James 1:2 says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (NLT). If you’re like me, your initial response to reading that is, “Say what?” Frustration, anger, depression, fear, or anxiety…maybe. But joy? I don’t think so. It’s hard for us to imagine responding to troubles with great joy.

James knew what he was talking about, though, because it’s not until you’re in the middle of trouble that you fully appreciate what Jesus can do for you. You can’t fully appreciate His wisdom until you face a situation where there seems to be no answers. You can’t fully appreciate His peace until you’re tranquil life is rocked by a raging storm. You can’t fully appreciate His comfort until your heart aches with grief. You can’t fully appreciate His strength until you’ve spent every ounce of your energy. You can’t fully appreciate His nearness until you’ve been abandoned by everyone you thought you could rely on and you’re left standing alone with your faith. You can’t fully appreciate the hope He gives until every earthly possibility has been exhausted to no avail. You can’t fully appreciate His healing until your body or the body of someone dearer to you than your own life has been ravaged by some merciless disease. You can’t fully appreciate His grace until you’ve come face to face with the utter monstrosity of your sin.

It’s in the darkness that we see His light more clearly. It’s in the midst of loneliness that we experience the arms of the Father enveloping us. It’s in the times of trouble and sorrow that we come to know Him more intimately. It’s in the place of pain that we are changed into His likeness. For those reasons alone, our response is joy. It’s the joy that comes from seeing the eternal God and realizing that all of our problems are temporary. That’s what Paul was talking about when he wrote:

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:17–18 NLT)

Hold fast to the everlasting hope that is found in Christ. Our troubles are temporary, but our joy is eternal.