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“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. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4, NIV).
When I first started suffering from reproductive issues, I had no clue it would lead to a diagnosis of Stage 2 Endometriosis. I’d always thought my pain wasn’t normal, but then again, I was dismissed by nearly every medical staff I met. As the severity of the pain grew, however, I asked God again and again to take it away.
Like Paul, I remember calling out to my Savior for strength. And yet, more than three times, I felt my pain wasn’t answered. For years, I wondered if God heard me. I wondered if He cared about my pain and saw me. I wondered when and how he’d heal me. Why I was chosen to suffer (2 Corinthians 12).
Since having surgery, I’ve learned that God not only heard me then, but that He hears me now. He is El Roi, the God who sees me, no matter where I am or what I’m doing (Genesis 16:13). I learned that He cares about my pain when healing comes and when it doesn’t. These are re-affirmations I tell myself daily.
I may not be pain or symptom-free, but I’ve learned that if God can use my pain to serve and help others, then so be it. Not because it makes the pain any easier to experience and live with, but because I have an eternal point of view.
In James 1:2-4, Jesus reminds us to count trials of any kind as joy. At a quick glance, this seems crazy. Why would pain, sorrow, and difficulties be seen as good? More so, how could they be viewed in this light? How do we consider it all joy when the pain ceases to exist?
The beauty of verses like this is that we aren’t necessarily rejoicing for our pain, but the spiritual growth that results from the pain. Enduring this fire of sorts not only refines our spirits, but helps us become more like Jesus. It points us to the cross of Christ and enables us to focus on His sacrificial character, even amid our pain and suffering.
