GratefulSample

Too often we confuse being thankful with being happy. It's safe to say none of us are happy when bad things happen to us, or when life doesn't go our way. It's hard, disappointing, and not at all what we expected.

However, that isn't what today's verse is encouraging us to do.

Happiness can be surface-level, and largely influenced by what's happening — or not happening — in our lives. God wants us to be happy, but we can't always rely on life's circumstances to bring us happiness.

Today's verse encourages us to "count it pure joy" when life goes sideways. What in the world does that mean? To "count it all joy" means we maintain a long-term view of what God is working on in our lives.

If we look at the initial trial and focus only on that, it can be easy for us to become discouraged and want to give up. However, if we pause, we can recognize that whatever is happening, God can actually use it to grow our faith.

It's like working out or going for a run; it isn't always fun. It's a lot of work. But that work is necessary for us to become physically stronger and to have better endurance. That's what our hard times can do for us.

Here's a challenge: take a moment and think through a hard time you've been pretty upset about. Flip the script and consider what God is trying to do in your life through that situation.