October 3, 2026 -- Day Three of Joy: James 1:2-3

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How are joy and trials linked?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. James1:2-3 ESV

Why trials? How are these linked to joy? This morning I was reading the article “When Leadership outpaces Formation: the challenge of function-driven leadership” (Faith Today. September/October 2026, page 42). Author Cathie Ostapchuk writes, “I learned early how to carry responsibility, but not how to tend to the soul carrying it”. What an amazing statement. Perhaps believers learn to count the trials of various kinds as joy precisely because the Spirit of God is using such circumstances to teach the soul to lean upon Him. Entirely upon Him and Him alone. Trials drive the child of God to the Spirit for the restoration of the soul.

This morning one of my prayer partners and I met for our regularly scheduled hour of coffee and prayer. Joey and I were speaking of how hard this season has been, for each of us, in our respective areas of work. Precisely because it was difficult, we had to pray more. Interestingly, we realized that because we knew we are “poor in spirit”, the testing of our faith brought us to our knees in utter reliance on God. We realized this explains why we saw the kind of fruit that would never have appeared in our lives if we’d been in a long season of ease. Steadfastness is the assurance that God’s got this. Steadfastness is the ability to put one foot in front of other, patiently persevering, especially in a time of hard slogging, because the Captain of Salvation both directs and sustains His people by the Spirit of God. We count it all joy because God is in the middle of all of this. He is doing what only God can do, which is to bring order out of chaos, living saints from dry bones. Count it all joy!

Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit three we Name You the Triune God of glory and the sole source of joy in the life of the believer. Thank You for the great gift of hindsight, whereby we can see the good You have produced through the various trials we have endured. Increase our faith and our courage Lord. Amen.

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