Finding Joy and Peace Amidst Life's Trials

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance…. James 1:2-4

Advertising tells us if we use the right face cream we will look young forever. Financial advisors try to arrange our finances so we have financial abundance. Even at church we gravitate to preaching about the positive aspects of being a disciple of Jesus. 

I recently met a man who has suffered greatly. He and his family were in a horrific traffic accident. His wife and mother-in-law were killed. He and other family members in the vehicle were badly injured. He endured 37 operations followed by a cancer diagnosis and removal of a kidney. Recently he has again been diagnosed with cancer. 

In our conversation we were discussing the perspective of another friend of mine who stated: "In the church we don't have a good theology of suffering." To this my new friend shared his theology of suffering and here it is. 

"A journey with pain in it is a small price to pay to see God more clearly"

In my own testimony of experiencing loss I often say: "When everything was stripped away I found myself standing on solid ground." It is time to get honest with those who are seeking to be disciples of Jesus. The truth of the matter is, there will be difficulties and trials in life that seem too big to handle. Being a disciple of Jesus does not remove all of life's troubling circumstances. But by experiencing things that have the potential to destroy us we actually discover peace and joy that cannot be achieved in any other way than by suffering. 

K R Paton

President