Counting All as JoySample

When joy is a test

Recently, I attended the funeral of my friend’s son. He was only 47 when he died suddenly of a heart attack. In a moment, my friend’s firstborn was gone. There’s perhaps no greater test of joy than the death of your child. Yet, at the funeral, the family chose to celebrate his life. Through tears, I witnessed a community unite in shared sorrow and hope. Their joy wasn’t a denial of grief; it was grounded in something deeper: unwavering trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection as the true victory over death. Grief will still cast its shadow in the days ahead for this family, and turning trials into joy seems almost unconscionable. But the reason for joy changes everything.

The command is to "count," to intentionally consider trials through the lens of faith. Our trials are not pointless. When entrusted to God, they become tools of transformation. This is what James calls "all joy"—not partial or reluctant joy, but full, pure joy rooted in what God has done and is doing. God is growing us. He is working toward our completeness, that we might lack nothing of eternal worth. To "count it all joy" (James 1:2 NKJV) doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. It means trusting that God’s grace is greater than our losses.

Our joy may not always feel emotionally charged, but it is grounded in eternal truth: Christ is risen, and there’s overflowing joy in the kingdom of God. What hardship can you count as joy today—not because it’s easy, but because Jesus is enough?

Written by QUYNH EASTMAN