Trials are an inevitable part of life. Our response to them can shape our faith and deepen our walk with the Lord. On a recent episode of Your Hope-Filled Perspective podcast, Rev. Jessica Van Roekel and I talked about what it really means to count it all joy—even in the hard. Today on the blog, Jessica shares further encouragement on counting it all joy, and offers wisdom for facing trials with hope and faith—reminding us that joy isn’t found in the absence of hardship, but in the presence of God through it.
Counting It All Joy: Facing Trials with Faith and Hope
By Jessica Van Roekel
In a recent podcast episode, Michelle and I chatted about what it looks like to count it all joy. I thought of the rabbits who live in my yard. Every spring and summer, I (Jess) have oodles of bunny rabbits scurrying around my one-acre yard. There’s a family of rabbits which live under my porch and many more in the blue spruce pines outlining the yard. They might be cute, but they seem scared. They dash to one spot, come to a screeching halt, flick their ears, and twitch their eyes, alert to danger. They catch their breath and dash to another part of the yard to repeat this cycle over and over again.
God used this picture to demonstrate how we can be like those cute little bunnies in our spiritual journey. We can run scared, waiting for the next bad thing to happen so we dash from one activity to another to make ourselves frenetically busy hoping to avoid whatever danger is on the horizon. Our thoughts may tell us if we look busy and act busy, the window of potential hardship will close, and we will miss it. Yet, God may want to take us through the difficulty rather than us doing everything we can to avoid it or go around it.
No one talks about unpleasant circumstances like they do when they leave for a long-awaited and anticipated vacation. I haven’t heard anyone say, “Boy, I sure am excited about that diagnosis.” Or “I’m so glad I’ve been slandered at work. I can’t wait for Monday!” We have the opposite response of “Oh no. Why is this happening to me?” or “Just wait for Monday, I’m going to make them miserable for treating me that way.” We stew over thoughts of revenge or despair or doubt or disillusionment. Joy is usually at the bottom of the list.
Counting it All Joy through Trials
The book of James is clear about our response to trials. We are to “count it all joy.” I’ve often said following God is living in an upside-down kingdom. Everything the world around us says is right and normal and justified is flipped on its head. God calls us to faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness. He spurs us on toward strength rather than weariness. And he is clear about joy.
Our joy is not found in the trials. It’s found in God who is with us in the trials. James 1:2 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds.” The Greek word for trials (peirasmoi) refers to persecutions and pressures in our lives which God can use to strengthen our faith and to develop perseverance and godly character. James goes on to remind us that our faith only grows stronger when we practice what we believe.
Facing Trials with Joy, Faith, and Hope
If we say God is good all the time, but then face a bad time, will we still act like God is good? We may say God is our strength, but if we collapse in despair, do we really believe God is our strength? Without trials, our faith becomes a statement rather than a lifestyle. Facing our trials with joy means we remember the wonderful benefits and positive results they can produce in us if we hold fast to faith and hope.
The Apostle Paul refers to rejoicing in our sufferings in Romans 5:3 and he provides a list of benefits in verses four and five. “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” (ESV).
Holding On to Hope and Joy in Trials
We can count it all joy when we face trials because we will learn how to endure, our character will improve, and our hope will grow stronger in the Lord. It is this kind of hope, placed on our most loving, strong, caring, joy-filled God, which allows us to stop running scared, meet our trials with joy, and walk through them.
Today, let God hold you by the hand and hang on tight to him, while he stays by your side through your trial. You can count it all joy because he is with you and has good plans for you, even in the middle of the hard.
What does counting it all joy really look like when life is hard? Trials test our faith—but they also grow endurance, character, and hope. Share on X Facing a hard season? You can start counting it all joy—not because trials are easy, but because God is with you in the middle of them. Share on X
About Rev. Jessica Van Roekel:
Jessica Van Roekel is a worship leader, speaker, and writer who believes that through Jesus, personal histories don’t need to define the present or determine the future. She inspires, encourages, and equips others to look at life through the lenses of hope, trust, and God’s transforming grace. Jessica lives in rural Iowa surrounded by wide open spaces which remind her of God’s expansive love. She loves fun earrings, good coffee, and connecting with others.
Connect with Jessica: Website / Instagram / Facebook
