Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
-James 1:2-3

My son walks to school. He walks 2.5 miles to school...each way. When he first started, it was not uncommon to hear him complain about tired and sore legs after he got home. It is quite a distance and he was not all that happy to do it. Unfortunately, our particular family circumstances required it.

Now we are almost at the end of the school year. He is still walking. Only now, he does so with ease and confidence. He hardly notices at all. It is second nature to him...no big deal. He actually enjoys it.

Of course, he requires more food as a result. Seems like he is always hungry.

Spiritually, we can enter a similar dynamic. We can dread doing something that is uncomfortable or difficult. It could be anything: approaching a brother with an admonition, cheerfully giving, denying self, turning the other cheek, forgiving a trespasser or answering a question truthfully, though it may cost us something.

What if we could look at the road ahead and be happy that it is going to be a difficult walk? What if we could experience true joy that we are about to suffer or be greatly inconvenienced? What if we could realize, before hand that the testing of our faith meant that it would eventually be strengthened as a result?

The funny thing about being tested is that, the more you have to do it, the easier the test becomes. It is always that first step that is the hardest. And, while being tested builds perseverance, there is no guarantee that the trials will ever end. Consider James. When he wrote the above scripture, could he have known that he would be stoned to death in A.D. 62? Probably not. But, his trials led him there, regardless.

So how do we do it? How do we come by this ability to face adversity, considering it as joy?

Well, there is great freedom in knowing that we are on the road that God set before us...even if that road is rocky and overgrown. By the very fact that we can come to this conclusion, we can also arrive at the idea that God would give us the ability to travel that road, even if we don't think we can.

And, even if we cannot see the details of all the hazards that the road may hold, we do know exactly where the road ends. This is joy.