JOY

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Job less, cancer, surgeries, death, memory loss, divorce, abuse, suicide, depression, anxiety. Consider it all joy, my brothers.

This morning on our 2nd Sunday with the Fruit of the Spirit, we are going to be looking at and studying the 2nd fruit of the Spirit, JOY. It is my prayer that as we study these verses from the book of James, we will see how even amid a world of sorrow, there can always be JOY. And with that being said, May God bless the preaching of this, His Most Holy Word.

JOY! It is a fruit of the Spirit that if we are honest, can be difficult to find in the world today. But perhaps that may be just the problem. Are we looking for it in all the wrong places? Since JOY is a fruit of the Spirit and we know the world and the Spirit are at odds, should we expect to find any joy in the world? Not really. But what about God’s people? Those who He has chosen and set apart, filled with His Spirit? These should be the most JOY-filled people in the world. Yet so many times even we, who are among this category, are not JOY-filled. Is it possible that at one time, we Christians were JOY-filled, yet this world full of evil, has beat and battered us so bad that there is simply no JOY left. Anytime I think about JOY, I think about Paul. A man who had every right to be JOY-less, yet seemed to be the most JOY-ful.

You remember the story. We find it in the book of Acts. Paul and Silas have just ridden themselves of this future-telling slave servant who many were making money off of. Upon realizing that these people had lost their source of income, they seize Paul and Silas drag them through the city, strip and beat them with rods, flog them, and throw them into prison. The jailer put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. Did Paul and Silas have any reason at all, from an earthly point of view, to be joyful? NO! Yet we read in the next verse that , “about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” So, my brothers and sisters, if Paul and Silas could find JOY amid their plight, don’t you think we can find JOY amid our troubles and trials as well? Now onto our scripture for today.

James begins by saying, “Count it all joy my brothers.” He doesn’t say to just count some of it as JOY, but ALL of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

James then continues by telling us what exactly we are to consider JOY. He says, “When you meet trials of various kinds.” The NLT translation puts it, “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

As is many times throughout the Bible, this seems contrary to how things should function in the world. The world and our culture today says to flee from heartache and oppression. It says the easier your life is, the better off you’ll be. Yet James paints quite a different story for us. He says that JOY, true JOY, is what we should possess whenever trials come our way.

While I was at camp this summer, I learned very quickly that I have a LOT to be grateful for. I was surrounded by people of all ages who due to a brain tumor, had been diagnosed with disabilities far worse than mine. These kids and adults have to wake up every day of their lives and live with these disabilities that they did not ask nor wish for. Yet, out of the over 100 campers present there that week, there was this one particular young lady that stood out to me the most.

From the minute she stepped foot on campus to the minute we parted ways, the smile on her face never left. I distinctly remember one day while at camp, she thought that she had missed her ride on the golf cart back to her cabin. Feeling frantic, she went running towards the door, tripped over her walker, and fell flat on her face. It was quite a tragic and frightening moment for all of us who witnessed it. Yet, when we went to get her up, and make sure that she was okay, she was grinning from ear to ear and laughing. This girl had nothing that you would think would bring her any JOY. She walked with a walker, stumbled as she walked, had a speech impediment, along with many other things, yet her JOY went beyond her circumstances. And that is what I feel James is telling us here today.

To be filled with JOY despite whatever is going on in our lives. Why? Because it is then that the world and those around us stops and notices. Hey! Something is different about him or her. They have no reason, considering their circumstances to be JOYful, yet they are happier and more joyful than anyone I know. It is then and there, my brothers and sisters, as the world stops to notice, that we have been given the opportunity to point the world to Christ. It is then that we can say, with JOY, let me just tell you why I am so JOYful. It is because of Jesus, all that He has done for me, and that He has chosen to live within my heart and soul. JOY gives us an outlet to spread the Gospel. Amen!

JOY looks beyond everything that is going wrong in our lives, and looks to the end prize that awaits those of us who believe in the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. As Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We have a race to run, my dear brothers and sisters. Therefore, may we choose today, no matter what our race may look like, to run our race with JOY!

So what is the result of having JOY amid trials? Besides having an opportunity to share the Gospel. Well, James tells us. We read in verse 3. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Steadfastness. There’s a word that we use everyday. What does steadfastness mean? Well according to the Greek, we find this word for steadfastness to be the Greek word, “hypomonē.”(who poe moné) Which if we look at the definition, really means patience. Commentator David Guzik writes, “Patience is the ancient Greek word hupomone. This word does not describe a passive waiting but an active endurance. It isn’t so much the quality that helps you sit quietly in the doctor’s waiting room, as it is the quality that helps you finish a marathon.

v. The ancient Greek word hupomone comes from hupo (under) and meno (to stay, abide, remain). At its root, it means to remain under. It has the picture of someone under a heavy load and choosing to stay there instead of trying to escape.” You know what I think of when I hear this word explained? I think of Christ, carrying His own wooden, splintered cross to the hill upon which He would be crucified. Could He have dropped the cross and run away? Of course He could! Could He have called to His Father in Heaven to unleash every angel at His disposal? Most certainly He could have! But He didn’t! Why? Because Christ had “hupomone”. It was steadfastness that held Him there. So I ask you today, my dear brothers and sisters. Are you willing, to stay amid your trials just a little bit longer in order that you may develop patience and steadfastness? It is well worth the endurance.

Then in verse 4, James brings it all together. He writes, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” David Guzik writes, “The work of patient endurance comes slowly and must be allowed to have full bloom. Patient endurance is a mark of the person who is perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

When I was reflecting upon this patient endurance, it made me think of a movie. I don’t know how many of you have ever seen the movie, “Dennis, the Menace.” But there is one part in the movie where, where Mr. Wilson, who lives next door is awaiting a very precious moment. You see, Mr. Wilson is a part of a very prestigious and high society club. Well this club is having a meeting to behold the glorious blooming of Mr. Wilson’s plant. Everyone has gathered for this momentous occasion and they sit and watch as this glorious plant begins to unfold. As the plant reaches its peak opening, Dennis comes barreling through the house, yelling to Mr. Wilson that he has been robbed. Mr. Wilson turns to see what all the ruckus is about and by the time he turns back around, his beloved plant has withered and died. There are many times that we long for that perfect and complete moment in life. However, it is only if we can endure through the trials and troubles of this life that in the end, we will become perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

I don’t know about you, but I long earnestly for that day, that day when I will look upon my Savior’s face and hear those words, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.” Yet we can only hear those words, so long as we endure. Yes, I realize that the days of past and the days ahead look hard and difficult. Yes, I realize that there have been times where you didn’t know if you could go another day, yet another moment. But God’s grace is sufficient. And if we hang in there, I know that He will see us through. Therefore, may we not lose JOY.

As Psalm 30:5 tells us, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” May the JOY in which Christ implanted in our hearts, we not allow the burdens of this world to diminish or put out. As the old children’s song used to say, “I’ve got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I’ve got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay. And if the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack. Ouch! Sit on a tack! Ouch! Sit on a tack! And if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack. Ouch! Sit on a tack to stay.”

May we not allow this world to steal our JOY. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!