Count it ALL joy?
Yes.
Let me elaborate. Recently I had stood up and spoken out against abortion, and had many people agree and support me, along with a few who thought I was crazy for my stance on it. After I had made some good points supporting my argument, they decided to act childish and call me names, "evangelical bible thumper" being one of them. persecution. Well, it hurt! I called up on my friends and vented the situation, and the advice they gave me helped my perspective. Being called an "evangelical bible thumper" is actually a compliment! Weird right? But Jesus said: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (meaning persecution) in James 1:2. Jesus is saying here that we need to not worry and be let down when people say things or try to hurt us, because it means we're doing something right. It means we're making an impact on people, whether they like it or not.
Key Word: when - Jesus said when you fall into various trials, not IF. We know we are going to have troubles and trials and persecutions when we follow Jesus, so He wrote this verse to comfort us, saying He knows it too, but He also knows that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.
1 Peter 2:19-22 My friend that gave me the advice actually just sent me these verses as I'm typing, and they're SO encouraging! It just goes to show that Christ suffered and endured much worse, so can't I or you suffer for His sake?! We owe everything to Him, so we should be living as an example of His love, even if we endure some hardship. He's worth it.
One last thing I've been struggling with: making a difference. I put myself in a place that I knew was going to be hard, but I was feeling called there, and I needed to be a witness and shining light. I thought "if only one person shows a difference, or turns to Christ, then it'll be worth it." Well, no one has. Sure, I've had many people ask me questions..... "why are you a virgin?" "why are you so nice?" "why do you wear a purity ring?" and questions like that. But no one has really asked me about my relationship with God, and it's really discouraging me. But that same friend I told you I called earlier, also gave me some huge wisdom, saying: "We're the seed sower, but God is the one who waters the seed and grows it". Meaning that we may not always see the fruit of our labor, (we may not always see people change) but it's our job as a christian to sow those seeds for Jesus to water and grow.
Speaking of seeds..... WE HAVE A CHOICE! Is the seed we sow good seed, or bad, discouraging seed? I sure hope it's good seed if we're calling ourselves christian, we must make a positive impact, not a bad impact. Pray about the type of seed you're sowing to others around you.
As I finish, just remember this one thing....God hates when you go through trials, but it's going to happen so is your attitude "woe-is-me" or is your attitude full of joy?
Check back soon for the next post, which will explain the difference between joy and happiness.
God bless, and blog soon.
