This post took me almost a half of a year to have the words and wisdom to write. It’s why my blog is titled “Consider the Joy” and why I’m walking closer with Jesus than ever before.
It all started in a season of grief, depression, and anxiety. I was caught in the depths of a spiral I couldn’t escape. The days felt dark and hopeless. And when I went to church, hearing about God’s joy seemed cruel. I started to doubt that it even existed for me personally. It all just seemed too distant, too far beyond my reach. Yet God met me where I was at and strengthened my understanding of his perfect joy.
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (NIV). The New King James Version uses the phrase “count it all joy.” This is a command to believers, that we regard our trials as joy for all the good that will come from them.
But what does that mean for us today, when life feels exceedingly heavy? Where is the joy for today? We know from these verses that hardship is temporary and it will have its benefits in time, but that doesn’t exactly help me get through the day.
One of my pastors, Mike Schnepp, preached on joy in a sermon called “Come What May.” He said, “You can’t have unshakable joy if you are centered on something unstable,” in reference to Philippians 1:21-26[i]. In a devotional I read that same week, this idea of joy was further emphasized. Lysa TerKeurst wrote, “Our understanding of joy rises and falls on whether we truly trust God in the midst of what our human minds can’t see as good at all[ii].” It was clear that God wanted me to know something about his joy; could it be that, even in my darkest moments, joy was still available to me?
There’s a difference between worldly joy and supernatural joy. Society says that my joy comes from things; God says my joy comes from him. His presence brings me joy, even when life feels unbearable.
In the Bible, there are a handful of words used to describe “joy.” In the New Testament, one of those is χαρὰ (chara). According to HELPS Word Studies and Strong’s Concordance, this Greek term is similar to the word for “grace,” implying that this joy exists because of God’s grace[iii]. We see this specific term used in some of the following contexts:
- James 1:2 – I have joy in trials because God will refine me; his grace is more than enough.
- Romans 12:12 – I rejoice in hope because God’s grace will enable me to endure any circumstance.
- Philippians 1:25 – I have joy in my faith because it’s God’s grace that saved me.
- Romans 15:13 – God fills me with joy beyond circumstances because his grace abounds.
- Galatians 5:22 – This joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s something I choose to develop in faith, knowing that because of God’s grace, I have hope.
- Hebrews 12:2 – Jesus rejoiced in suffering because God’s grace was greater than what he faced. He endured the cross for a greater good. He saw beyond the temporary hardship to our eternal salvation.
So I have joy because of God’s grace. But still, how do I access it today? Even amongst doubt or depression, is it really available?
The reality is that, for many days, joy felt impossible for me. But daily encounters with God gave me hope and filled me, despite any skepticism in my heart. Joy felt so difficult to attain because I equated it to a feeling that could come from having all that I wanted. Really, what I was looking for wasn’t found in things of this world. There was no self-help book or Google search that could meet my needs. The true joy I was seeking was only found in relationship with God.
It was never supposed to be only about that joy I’d experience someday down the road. God wants me to experience his perfect joy today! God’s lasting joy is never about what circumstances I face or what emotions I feel. God’s joy comes from being fully satisfied with him. I don’t have to have a perfect life to be joyful. I simply have to be with the One who is perfect and he gives me his joy.
And here’s the thing: Joy doesn’t come from a situation. It doesn’t come from a single verse in Scripture. Joy comes from a story. It comes from a person looking to God as their source of life. There isn’t a specific formula or memorized prayer that can cause joy. It must come from transformation, experiencing God’s grace and goodness first-handedly. There are countless stories recorded in the Bible of people experiencing God’s joy, regardless of what they faced, because God was bigger than what they saw or felt. The same is true for us today.
For me, it was daily prayer, praise, and time in the Word that led me to experience God’s joy. I stopped looking at my problems and found joy in knowing that God was – and is – so much greater than anything I faced. I found joy in knowing that God is for me and he is with me, even in the hard and painful. I found joy in God’s comforting presence. I clung to the truths of God’s word and had a prayer partner who consistently spoke those promises over me.
While I battled anxiety and depression, I never denied, hid, or belittled what I felt. It was never about delaying joy to a distant tomorrow. God never asks me to. It was about inviting God into my struggles and asking him to give me joy for today. I declared who God is and his goodness over my life, in the presence of my debilitating pain. He is my joy…even when life feels too chaotic. He is my joy…even when conflict arises. He is my joy…even when that relationship fails. He is my joy…even when I don’t know how I’ll get by. He is my joy…even when the unthinkable happens. It was here, in the midst of hurt, that God’s joy broke through.
And maybe I wouldn’t appreciate or understand true, godly joy if I didn’t know this suffering.
I’m still not fully healed from depression or anxiety, but by the grace of God, I’ve made incredible progress. I never pushed away the pain, but I also stopped denying the joy available to me. My greatest, most powerful weapons became prayer and praise. God gave me reasons to rejoice, even in the middle of what felt unbearable.
And my doubt didn’t stay because I stayed close to God, even when abandoning my faith felt easier. It was doubt that fueled my curiosity. And when I showed up with all my questions, God showed up with answers of who he is: sovereign, gracious, loving, kind, compassionate. The closer I stayed to my Father, the more he comforted and carried me through it all.
Today, this experience becomes evidence of my faith and trust in God. He has redeemed this hurt and this season for a greater good. It might not have been what I would have planned, but nothing in the hands of God is ever wasted.
Joy exists for me today…and there is still more joy to come.
[i] Mike Schnepp. (2021). Come What May. Vox Church. https://voxchurch.org/page/674?Item=870
[ii] Lysa TerKeurst. (2021). When Joy Feels So Unrealistic. Proverbs 31 Ministries. https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2021/07/08/when-joy-feels-so-very-unrealistic
Consider the Joy 
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