Day 9

Joy

The Purpose of Suffering

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

James 1:2–4 ESV

Have you ever considered the fact that God’s goal isn’t your happiness but your holiness? God doesn’t set out to make you happy but wants to make you holy, and sometimes he must do that through all kinds of trials. In those instances all happiness may be lost, but God is not concerned because he knows that the symptom of a holy life is pure joy. That is, when you see the purpose of the pain and suffering as testing that is meant to perfect and complete you so that you will be lacking nothing, then joy comes from wanting the same thing as God—your perfection. If there were no purpose to all the pain, then you would have something to be angry or depressed about, but knowing that God uses it all to teach you perseverance or steadfastness, which leads to making you complete, is all you need to be set free to a life of joy.

When you can accept God’s goodness in your life in the form of testing, you get more than joy added to you—out of that joy comes the fuel for both your service to him and your contentment with your life. The joy that the fruit of the Spirit teaches you to experience energizes you and drives you to want to serve him more. And in this simple discovery of your purpose (service), you can find contentment, and not only that, but when you look at your life though the fruit of joy, you see God working out everything for your good, not your destruction (see Rom. 8:28 and Jer. 29:11).

But joy does more than lead to service and contentment; it also keeps a wrong view of God from becoming a part of your life. You see, when you see things through the Spirit’s eyes, you suddenly have no need to complain or to criticize. After all, why would you find fault with God’s ways? With his plans for your life? Doesn’t the God Girl want only the best for her life, and isn’t the best whatever God deems good for her? So then, when you allow the Spirit to color your perception of the world, joy flows out of you and you have no more room for resentment, bitterness, jealousy, or the like. You know that your life is as it should be, and the only path you want to follow is the Lord’s.

That isn’t to say there will be no suffering in your life, but the suffering will mean something to you. That is, it won’t be only to bruise you and break you but will be to smooth you and to remake you into his image. In this way, through the filter of joy, your pain is redeemed and used for good and not destruction. Those who don’t know the sovereignty and power of God are left victims of the world around them, uncertain why things happen to them. But the God Girl knows nothing happens to her so much as for her—for her holiness and perfection. Once she sees this she knows that her suffering will be used to comfort another one day. And that makes it all worth it, that she might ultimately serve God with her suffering rather than serve the enemy with her whining and complaining, her fear and her doubt.

• Redefine It

You have suffered in your life. Your heart has been broken or your feelings have been hurt. Bad things have happened, and you have missed out on something you wanted in life. Don’t let your suffering go to waste a day longer. Today, allow it to be redeemed by God for his service.

What are some major heartaches, trials, or tests in your life?

How might you be able to see God in them? How might he be wanting to redeem them for his service?

Think about your suffering as a tool in God’s hands: How could he have meant it for your good? Consider the story of Joseph, told in Genesis 37–50, and how he was able to tell his brothers, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good” (see Gen. 50:20).

• Ask It

Is there room for more joy in your life? Ask yourself:

Who or what do I resent in my life?

Is there anyone I am bitter with?

Who am I jealous of? Am I discontent in some area of my life?

What do all of these emotions say about my faith in God and who he is?

How can I reject these feelings in favor of faith?

What does God’s Word say about these emotions? (Find some verses in the verse list at the back of the book.)

• Pray It

Dear God, I have missed it. I’ve missed the chance to trust you in my trials. I’ve allowed the bad stuff that has happened in my life to be wasted and not used for good. But today I want to change that. I accept your gift of grace and ask that you show me how I can serve you with my suffering. Amen.

• Share It

Consider who you might share your suffering with. If you haven’t let God redeem it and make it for your good, then find someone you can talk to about it. Consider James 5:16, and confess your sins to another righteous person so they can pray for you and God can heal you. Then allow your suffering to be used for good by telling others about how God redeemed it in your life and made it worth something more than the pain.