Count It All Joy

Rohnda Monroy
May 24
2 min read

On the hard days.

In the darkness of a sleepless night.

Through the trials, the pain, and the sickness that will not let up.

Through the diagnosis, the disability, and the devastating phone call.

How do we “count it all joy”?

This phrase from James chapter 1 is sometimes used flippantly, as a way to dismiss our pain rather than truly acknowledge it. Sometimes others do this to us, and sometimes we do it to ourselves. But this verse did not flow from the heart of God to the pages of Scripture as a means of escaping hard seasons. It was given to encourage us to walk through them with perspective and purpose.

When I first began studying this verse, I came across a commentary explaining that the word “count” in the original language was a mathematical term. It instructs us to look at the trials we are facing and compare them to the power and purposes of God.

I will be honest. Math has never been my gifting. But learning this equation has done more for my life than all those struggling years of algebra class.

So how do we “do the math” when it comes to our trials?

How do we count it all joy?

We do it by looking beyond our present circumstances and remembering the promises of the One who exists outside of time and space and is working on our behalf. We look to Jesus, who, “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross.” We follow His example in our own trials, knowing that these hardships are producing in us a steadfast hope in a kingdom that can never be shaken.