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Have you ever wondered what the response was from first-century Christians after they read the apostle James’ New Testament epistle? Then as now, life could be challenging, and James addressed the issue head on:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)
Imagine the vibe in James’ small group as they tried to digest his shocking exhortation …
Uhhh, James, when we meet trials of various kinds, you want us to count it all what? Your letter says “joy.” Hahaha! Good one, James. Tell us another. Surely that’s not what you meant. Maybe your quill bled ink all over the vellum and caused a typo. These things happen — we get it. They sure don’t make quills like they used to. And as far as we’re aware, spellcheck hasn’t been invented for vellum yet. So we’ll give you a pass. But you do know that we Christians are being severely persecuted, right? The authorities are harassing us, confiscating our belongings, imprisoning many and torturing others. They’re even condemning some of us to the arena. In light of all this, surely you meant to say “count it all sadness” or “count it all gloom and doom” or “count it all a great reason to lawyer up,” right?
No. I meant count it all joy.
Oh.
The Daring Nature of James 1:2
Okay, maybe James’ next church gathering didn’t go exactly like that. But his message certainly must’ve raised eyebrows.
Count it all joy … when you meet trials of various kinds. This is radical! It goes against every impulse we have to avoid pain and seek ease. Yet throughout Scripture, the message is clear: For followers of Christ, hard times are not an aberration; they should be an expectation. And the goal is not just mere survival. James — and the entire biblical witness — says we are to rejoice in suffering with a heart of gratitude toward God in both good times and bad. So how do we teach this seemingly paradoxical spiritual mandate to our children?
It starts in our own hearts.
Me First
Back in school, I liked history and English far more than math and science.
Pythagorean theorem? Gesundheit.
Einstein’s theory of relativity? Gave me hives.
The steps of the scientific method? Zzzzzz.
Unsurprisingly, I have never been asked to lecture on trigonometry, molecular biology, or quantum mechanics. We can’t teach what we don’t already know.
The same is true when it comes to teaching our kids to thank God in hard seasons. How can we ask them to do what they don’t see in us? How will our kids develop hearts of gratitude that rise above their circumstances if they consistently hear us griping in trials?
I love the simplicity of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Doesn’t get much more straightforward than that. We must embrace this attitude before we begin teaching it to our kids.
Building on Bedrock
But having a continual heart of gratitude is easier said than done! To do this, we need to consistently remind ourselves of theological truth. Do we really believe that God possesses all wisdom and power? Do we really believe that He is always good and loving? Can we honestly echo Paul’s words in Romans 8:28 that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose?
When we doubt God’s goodness, it’s difficult to remain grateful in all circumstances. What is there to be joyful about if the God we serve is capricious, callous, aloof, vindictive or partially lacking in goodness, wisdom or power? If that were the case, we’d be no better off than ancient pagans, whose religious lives revolved around appeasing fickle deities.
But our God is not like that! He is holy, just and perfect in all His ways. As Moses sang, The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He (Deuteronomy 32:4).
Our hearts will only trend toward gratitude in difficult times when we are standing firm on this bedrock of truth: God is good, and He never fails.
A Matter of Focus
I’m hot!
I’m tired!
I’m hungry!
I’m thirsty!
I’m bored!
Didn’t we have this for dinner last night?
Why can’t we just go home?
Are these the words of the ancient Israelites after leaving Egypt … or our own kids? Hard to tell.
It’s easy to complain. It’s harder to be grateful. Teaching our kids to show thankfulness in hard seasons requires patience, grace and intentionality. It means focusing on the manna and quail more than the hot sun and dusty trails. It means focusing on God’s provision rather than our apparent lack. It means helping our kids truly believe Philippians 4:19: And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Building Project
Trials are all about character-building. This is where James’ outlandish claim that we can count them as joy comes into play.
Trials are not random or meaningless. They are sovereignly ordained by God to mature us spiritually. The end goal of our lives is to glorify God and be conformed into the image of our Savior. God uses trials to accomplish both.
So it’s our job to slowly, gently and winsomely show our kids that God uses hard seasons to develop spiritual fruit in us. We can’t experience true peace without some chaos. We can’t experience true joy unless we learn how to conquer what tries to rob us of it. We can’t grow in patience unless we are forced to wait at times. We can’t learn perseverance unless there’s something to endure.
Character-building is hard! But becoming more like Jesus is worth it. We can help our kids make this distinction: We don’t have to rejoice in the trial itself, but we can express gratefulness to God for what the trial is producing in us.
Trust and Glory
Ultimately, gratefulness during hardships comes down to trust. In life’s bitter trials, what do we believe? And who do we believe in? Are we letting circumstances — or faith — dictate our response? Situations in our lives can change with the wind. But God is an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26:4) and our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
It’s all about glory too. Everything that happens in our lives, including the trials we face, is about God’s glory. He uses all things, including the tough stuff, to bring Himself glory. Will we buck against this sometimes-hard truth or embrace it?
As pastor/theologian/author John Piper likes to say, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” God wants our praise in all circumstances. And when God gets glory, it always results in the good of His children.
In hard seasons, we can help our kids grow in faith by praising the always-good, always-faithful, always-loving God who will never let us down.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
