Deal With It – Part 4
My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations … Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
James 1:2-3
God brought the creatures to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name it was assigned.
Genesis 2:19
Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the Joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
Proclaiming God’s Joy
Believers must learn the full meaning and purpose of proclaiming our trust in the Living God. It is more than an acknowledgment of truth. It is more than a reflection of our need for God. It is more than a statement of faith. When we make a trust proclamation, we are releasing God’s authority over the situation. We are prophesying to the problem, in the words of the Apostle James, that Joy will be the result of the encounter. We say to those who may be observing that Joy at the beginning of the conflict means God’s work will be completed. This is what it means to count it all joy.
When the believer counts it all joy, they proclaim that God is the Creator and the sustainer of His creation. God is not the author of unfinished work. Every work that God has started He has completed. He completes the work to the specifications of His Will. God’s Will says, “this must be perfect and bring Me Glory.” It is only when it reaches the point of fullness or completion that God will then say, “It is perfect or complete.” With that in mind, we must understand that God uses the trials to develop His children. It is not the intent to break us down and destroy us, but to make of us what we cannot make of ourselves. His work is always a perfect work. Even in trials, we can count it all joy.
Such testing of faith, according to James, leads to an increase in our knowledge of God and how He is working to produce something fabulous. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience … But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. This verse confirms something is lacking in our faith. So, God uses the trial not to punish but to perfect what is lacking in our faith. Let us admit, that each of us lacks something. None of us have reached the level of perfection. None of us have achieved the level of total compliance with God’s will. Thus, God is at work in us to produce the fruit of the Spirit in the midst of trouble. God is working in us to fill what we are lacking and grow us to the point of full development in Christ. With that we count it all joy.
So, when you say, “I will count this all joy” you have verbally communicated to do things God’s way and have chosen His plan of action. That is how we deal with it. The word “count” in the Greek means to command. When you are considering it all joy, you are actually naming the situation by its good name. When Jesus faced crucifixion, He counted it all joy. He dealt with it. Hebrews 12:2, for the Joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. In our dealing with our struggle, we are commanded to look to Jesus. That’s how we deal with it.
In all boils down to what you will call your situations of life. Whatever you call them, that will determine the process of dealing with it. If you call the situation impossible and give it that label, you will deal with it as a defeat. If you call the situation joy, you now allow God to deal with it. It all depends on what you call it. What will you call your struggle?
Get the Right Label before You Deal With It
It is incredible what happens when you name something or label something. The label not only assigns the purpose, but it also defines the potential. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam the authority to put labels on creation. God brought the creatures to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name it was assigned. (Genesis 2:19) Adam named a mouse differently from the moose. He called the giraffe in order to distinguish it from goffer. One would be able to eat its food from high branches while the other had to dig into the ground. The labels defined the purpose as well as the potential.
With that same authority we can label situations and struggles. With that same authority we define the purpose and the potential. How many times have you said with your mouth, “this is about to kill me?” How many times have you said, “I’m done?” Is that how you deal with every crisis? James gives us a better way by counting it ALL JOY.
If it is sickness, then call it all Joy. If it a hardship, then call it all Joy. The suggestion is that everything must point to the outcome that God desires and not the outcome that you think because you don’t know the future. You lack wisdom and need to know that with God, all things are possible. Joy is going to perform at its highest level only if you engage it at the start of the process. Dr. Charles Stanley said, “Joy is the supernatural fruit that exists independently of external circumstances but goes into action as a result of the external circumstances.” (from the In Touch Daily Devotion – Feb. 25, 2022) In other words, Joy is not created in a problem, but Joy is available for the problem. When the problem started, Joy was already there with the tool box of God’s Grace and ready to go to work. So, Joy is that supernatural fruit of God that does not come about as a result of external events but goes into action when those external events take place.
Some of us read the Our Daily Bread devotional (ODB). Contributing writer, Alyson Kieda shared the story of Jennifer Bricker. Jen was born without legs and because her biological parents could not deal with it, they abandoned her at the hospital. Jen’s adoptive parents taught her how to deal with life by saying “never say can’t.” This beautiful young child took an interest in gymnastics and went on to become an accomplished acrobat and aerialist because she had positive energy to deal with it. Rather than labeling her by her circumstances, she was labeled a winner and a champion. She has competed in various competitions and has either won or placed high in the rankings as a result of her abilities.
Jennifer Bricker learned to deal with life rather than allowing life to deal her a bad hand or circumstance. You might say, she had joy as her guiding light. She remains quite busy and according to Wikipedia, has appeared on numerous TV shows, has toured with great celebrities, and has given many talks to encourage young women to adopt a positive attitude about their bodies and minds. Jen learned to deal with it. What if she allowed the label to stick that she was incomplete or messed up? What if she allowed the pains of life to dictate her destiny? She would have lived up to the expectations of the label.
When James wrote to the Jews scattered throughout the Roman empire, he was doing more than giving them a pep talk. He was commanding them to take authority over the situation by counting it all Joy. If they got the label right, they would not only survive but thrive in the midst of hardship.
It is important to realize what Jesus did when He faced crucifixion. He did not label it as the worst nightmare of His earthly life. Jesus counted it all Joy. Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the Joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. Hebrews 12:2. This Joy became the encouragement that our Savior relied on to despise the shame of going through the separation from the Father. This Joy that was set before Him kept the light in His heart until He finally set down at the Right Hand of God’s Throne. If Joy did that for our Savior at His lowest point, what will it do for you? Dealing with it with Joy is a process of giving the label to life that brings glory to God and happiness in your life regardless of the external circumstances. If your Joy depends on conditions changing, then you don’t have real Joy. Joy must be given; it can never be created by humans. God gives you Joy in order that you can place it on everything you go through in life. You don’t need many labels; you only need the Joy label.
God’s Joy Dealers
The purpose of this message is to turn God’s people into “Joy Dealers.” It does not bring honor and glory to God when you label yourself a failure, a victim, or someone who can’t make it through the trials of life. It does bring glory to God when you declare that you are strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might. It does not bring God glory when you run from every storm and tragedy. What does bring God glory is when you stand in the face of that crisis and declare that God is still the Head of your life. When you stand with tears in your eyes and declare that Jesus is Lord, that is a testimony of your trust. Possessing God’s Joy is one thing. When you demonstrate God’s Joy, that makes you a “Joy Dealer.”
Car manufacturers discovered that mass production presented both profits and problems. While they were selling cars, they needed dealerships to handle the problems and to maintain their public image. In setting up those dealerships, they had to train sales people and mechanics to deal with the customer. They used their cars to train those dealers and gave them the script so that they would know what to say if a problem developed. To add to that, they added a manufacturer’s warranty that if anything happened, all that the customer needed to do was bring the vehicle to the dealership and they would fix it.
You can’t take a Honda to a Chevrolet dealership and expect the same warranty to stand, unless it is one of those multi-line dealerships. The same is true for Audi, Mercedes, and Cadillac. You must take those vehicles to certified dealerships for the best service.
A similar principle applies to the child of God, with the exception that we are the dealership. God has trained us through the heartaches and cares of life. We are certified that He brought us through this and brought us through that. We are dealers now. It is not that we can fix it, but we simply know how to label the crisis so that God can fix it. Please note that we are still in training, but the Holy Spirit is working in us and with us to perform His work to perfection. I’m dealing with life better now. I can take the pain a little bit better now because I’m a dealer. I got tired of the world dealing it to me and forcing me to take its punishment. Now that I am a dealer and not a dealee, I don’t have to wear the label of the world. I now wear God’s label and count it all Joy. God’s label says I am blessed. God’s label reads I have victory. To sum it all up, God’s label says, this is All Joy. That is how we deal with it as children of God.
If the child of God encounters a situation beyond their capacity, simply remember that God will never put more on you than what you can bear. God will help by providing Divine Guidance. Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the Joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. Just look to Jesus and He will help you deal with it.