What does it mean to have true joy in suffering?
This is a good question. Does this mean that I have to be happy that I am suffering? Or that I have to be happy when bad things happen to me and those I love? No, but it does mean that we still have hope in Christ during these times and that we are joyful in hope, patient in affliction. We know that these are light and momentary struggles that are achieving for us a treasure that far outweighs them. (2 Corinthians 4:17) This gives me so much hope and courage and strength. I know that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, and I put my hope in that daily. I am not happy when I am lying paralyzed in bed because I cannot get up due to my anxiety or depression. I hate that my anxiety and fear can stop me from doing what I want to do. No, that does not make me joyful. But I am joyful when I remember that Christ has fought the battle for me and no matter what I struggle with here on earth, He will be here with me. He is here with me now, and He has defeated Satan and sin and death and when He returns, I will no longer have to deal with anxiety and stress and depression. This gives me joy.
I also have joy when I achieve things throughout the day that I thought I could not do. When God gives me strength to accomplish tasks that feel impossible, I am so filled with thankfulness and joy that He helped me to accomplish them.
I also feel joy when I know that God is working on something in me, and it gives me hope and a purpose when I know that He is refining my character through my struggles. Struggles are anything but fun, but when I can remember that He is making me more like Him and making my character reflect His, I am joyful in that. I also know that He is right by my side throughout all of my struggles and that anything that I suffer from, He has already suffered from and defeated. We are fighting a battle that is already ultimately won! This is so wonderful and gives me great joy.
I also find I have joy when I have an attitude of gratitude. It is so easy to focus on all that is going wrong in our day when we should be so grateful for all the many ways in which we have been blessed. There is always someone who has more than you, but there is also always someone who has less. Be grateful for what God has placed in your life and for the many blessings He pours out on you daily. You may not always see them right away, but trust me, they are there. I try to think of five things every day that I am thankful for. It was hard at first, but over time I realized there is so much I have to be thankful for and even when my day is hard, I realize it could be worse. This is not to minimize the pain that some of us go through, but I really have found that in the midst of pain, there can be true joy when I practice gratitude.
Meditate on these things when you are struggling and you want to have joy. This mindset is one that has to be cultivated too. It does not come naturally to us. We have to steep our minds in the Word of God and be actively involved in a relationship with Jesus. We also need to worship with other Christians and be surrounding ourselves with people who think this way as well. It does not help us to surround ourselves with negative people who only pull us down and not lift us up. We will become like those we surround ourselves with, and it is so much easier to be pulled down than to lift someone up. We still need to reach out to these people and love them but limit our time with them. Use your wisdom. Jesus reached out to those around Him, but who did He surround Himself with? His disciples-those who knew and loved Him and wanted to serve Him. Yes, they made many mistakes but God knew their hearts, and He poured into them and made them into strong and courageous men of faith. He can, and will do that for you too if you keep trusting in Him and following Him and glorifying Him in all that you do. Keep fighting for the faith. Do not give up. He is making us more into His image all the time. I am so thankful for this!
Finally, this is a quote that I found and that encouraged me as I was reading The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.
“I do not pray that you may be delivered from your pains, but I pray to God earnestly that He would give you strength and patience to bear them as long as He pleases. Comfort yourself with Him who holds you fastened to the cross. He will loose you when He thinks fit. Happy those who suffer with Him: accustom yourself to suffer in that manner, and seek from Him the strength to endure as much, and as long, as He shall judge to be necessary for you. The men of the world do not comprehend these truths, nor is it to be wondered at, since they suffer like what they are, and not like Christians. They consider sickness as a pain to nature, and not as a favour from God; and seeing it only in that light, they find nothing in it but grief and distress. But those who consider sickness as coming from the hand of God, as the effect of His mercy, and the means which He employs for their salvation- such, commonly find in it great sweetness and sensible consolation. I wish you could convince yourself that God is often (in some sense) nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health.”
