Looking for Pure Joy in 2021
Last week, we said goodbye to a very difficult year. While the Lord brought us many blessings, including the great blessing of not taking anything for granted, there were also many trials of faith.
We have entered into another topsy turvy year, and so for direction and strength to face it, we look to the Bible for wisdom. Here we find a topsy turvy statement that both humbles me and encourages me at the same time: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2)
What?!? Notice James is not saying that facing troubles is going to be fun or that trials in and of themselves are a joy. He’s not talking about seeking out trouble to be a martyr or masochist. He is talking about our attitude toward those trials and troubles. We are to count them as something good that our Lord allows to touch our lives to bless us with perseverance.
There are going to be times in our lives when we just don’t get it. When we say, “Lord I just don’t understand why this is happening to me. What possible good can come out of this?” Maybe the trial in your life has to do with your marriage and your spouse is being really hard to live with. Perhaps you’re struggling with the same issues over and over. Your faith is being put to the test on a daily basis. Or maybe the burden you’re carrying is a physical ailment in yourself or someone you love - one nagging pain after another; one doctor visit after another, with no end in sight. Maybe you’re struggling with the death of a loved one, that empty feeling in your heart, anger, maybe even severe depression. In times like these remember that Jesus invites us simply to trust him. He doesn’t say we will always get it. Yet how does the Bible put it? “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7). His care endures always and is complete. The words of a joyful song are not, “Jesus loves me this I feel” but “Jesus loves me this I know!”
Throughout life we are going to face trials and troubles that make it painfully obvious that we aren’t as strong as we think we are, times when we especially lean on our Jesus and his promises, times when we must beg, “Lord, you’ve got to get me through this. Please, help me see this whole thing from your perspective.” Jesus is the only one who can give us the ability to see past our earthly trials and fix our eyes on what really matters, namely, that he has not abandoned you.
I focus on how Jesus has adopted me as his own precious child. By his blood shed on a cross he’s forgiven all my sins, and is preparing a place in heaven for me. So if the death of a loved one drives me back to God’s promises in the Word of life after death through the glorious resurrection of his Son, then such a test served a good purpose didn’t it? And he promises that he will walk with me every step of my life until I get there.
The title of this column is Faith Perspectives. So no matter what trials you are facing right now, you can face them even considering it “pure joy” because you know that by such tests, your Jesus is strengthening and maturing you, and more importantly, you can trust your Jesus when it comes to your standing with him and his perfect plan for your life. Yes, you can have a new perspective on the trials you face this year. In the loving arms of our Savior, we are truly blessed.
We have entered into another topsy turvy year, and so for direction and strength to face it, we look to the Bible for wisdom. Here we find a topsy turvy statement that both humbles me and encourages me at the same time: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2)
What?!? Notice James is not saying that facing troubles is going to be fun or that trials in and of themselves are a joy. He’s not talking about seeking out trouble to be a martyr or masochist. He is talking about our attitude toward those trials and troubles. We are to count them as something good that our Lord allows to touch our lives to bless us with perseverance.
There are going to be times in our lives when we just don’t get it. When we say, “Lord I just don’t understand why this is happening to me. What possible good can come out of this?” Maybe the trial in your life has to do with your marriage and your spouse is being really hard to live with. Perhaps you’re struggling with the same issues over and over. Your faith is being put to the test on a daily basis. Or maybe the burden you’re carrying is a physical ailment in yourself or someone you love - one nagging pain after another; one doctor visit after another, with no end in sight. Maybe you’re struggling with the death of a loved one, that empty feeling in your heart, anger, maybe even severe depression. In times like these remember that Jesus invites us simply to trust him. He doesn’t say we will always get it. Yet how does the Bible put it? “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7). His care endures always and is complete. The words of a joyful song are not, “Jesus loves me this I feel” but “Jesus loves me this I know!”
Throughout life we are going to face trials and troubles that make it painfully obvious that we aren’t as strong as we think we are, times when we especially lean on our Jesus and his promises, times when we must beg, “Lord, you’ve got to get me through this. Please, help me see this whole thing from your perspective.” Jesus is the only one who can give us the ability to see past our earthly trials and fix our eyes on what really matters, namely, that he has not abandoned you.
I focus on how Jesus has adopted me as his own precious child. By his blood shed on a cross he’s forgiven all my sins, and is preparing a place in heaven for me. So if the death of a loved one drives me back to God’s promises in the Word of life after death through the glorious resurrection of his Son, then such a test served a good purpose didn’t it? And he promises that he will walk with me every step of my life until I get there.
The title of this column is Faith Perspectives. So no matter what trials you are facing right now, you can face them even considering it “pure joy” because you know that by such tests, your Jesus is strengthening and maturing you, and more importantly, you can trust your Jesus when it comes to your standing with him and his perfect plan for your life. Yes, you can have a new perspective on the trials you face this year. In the loving arms of our Savior, we are truly blessed.
Pastor Carl Schroeder
St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Sturgeon Bay, WI
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