Counting it ALL Joy

The Secret to Counting, from Someone Who's Bad at Math

Joy in the midst of trials

When I run out of fingers and toes, I have a serious problem. Math was never my area of giftedness. Creativity, reading, and writing are my strengths, so when the Scriptures tell us to “count it all joy,” I secretly cringe inside. I’m terrible at math!

This verse has bothered me for years: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds….” (James 1:2 NIV)

The idea of counting everything in life as an opportunity for joy seems over-the-top, pie-in-the-sky type thinking. You’d have to be blind not to see that life is not always joy-filled.

In fact, life is down-right hard, wouldn’t you agree? Who in their right mind thinks cancer is joyful, or the death of a child, or the loss of a job, or the smearing of one’s reputation? No one I know. This seems like utter nonsense. And then there is that counting word….

One day I decided to really examine this scripture to see if I was missing something. In my deep dive I learned that James is believed to be the brother of Jesus, and James was the leader of the Jerusalem Church following the resurrection of Jesus. It is thought this letter was written between 45AD—47AD to Jewish believers persecuted for their faith. Some had fled Jerusalem and were in hiding. This letter would have been read in homes and in caves to those who were trying to remain faithful.

Too often we read over that word ‘persecution’ because today we use it so freely to describe any kind of slight. We are persecuted because of the music we like, the region of the U.S. in which we choose to live, or the political party we join. But let me quote Tacitus, a sort of first century reporter,

“These early Christians were brutally executed, ‘and perishing they were additionally made into sports: they were killed by dogs by having the hides of beasts attached to them, or they were nailed to crosses or set aflame, and, when the daylight passed away, they were used as nighttime lamps.’ ”

That certainly puts persecution into perspective. This was the real deal, barbaric kind of persecution. So, if James is writing to those receiving this sort of persecution and telling them to count it all joy, now I’m truly confused. 

Encouragement for weariness

In reading this entire letter by James it becomes clear that he is talking to a group of people who consider themselves aliens living in a foreign land. They were born in this region but because of their faith in Jesus as the Messiah, they now have a new citizenship. To these believers this earthly life was not their home, and it was not their final destination. They would someday stand in the presence of their true King. But until then they had to have a way to live in this foreign land. 

This is where the letter from James would have been balm for these weary Christians. Are you weary? Do you need encouragement in your faith so you can stand strong while living in this world that seems more and more foreign day-by-day? The Book of James was written for us, too.

James encourages us to see how the bad things that happen here in our earthly home do not compare to the promised life we will obtain in our eternal home. In fact, he tells us that we’re obtaining future riches in the new world by staying steadfast in the midst of the persecution in this world. 

I finally got the math! I’m not counting the pain and suffering in this current life as the joy, I’m counting each trial as an opportunity to gain future glory. 

Each time you cling to your faith when it seems you can barely hold on, each time you choose forgiveness over retaliation, each time you hold on to hope when all seems hopeless, God counts it as a victory and your prize is awaiting in heaven. 

The Bible refers to this prize as a crown with jewels too beautiful to describe. I’m not sure it will be an actual crown, but a crown does give me an image to hold on to. Imagining every opportunity to stand strong in this life as another jewel in my crown does help me count.

James 1:12 says it this way, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Now this kind of counting I can do, even when I run out of fingers and toes. How about you?

Questions:

Are you bad at math like I am? Do you find that counting opportunities to remain steadfast is a lot easier than counting all trials as joy?

How does the image of a future crown of glory help you to remain steadfast and count it all joy?

Do you like this passage better with this new understanding?