Eld Chew Chong Kiat

When James says, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2), we may hesitate to agree. Joy and suffering do not seem to go together. Joy in trials feels unnatural. Yet this is precisely God’s command. The life of Job helps us see that this command is not unrealistic. This joy is holy, deep and possible because God is sovereign, wise and good.

When we think of Job, his faith in trials immediately stands out. In a very short span of time, he lost his children, possessions, servants, and later his health. Troubles and sorrows crashed down on him. He was touched in every part of life—family, wealth, health, emotions and companion. If anyone should have argued that joy in trials was impossible, it would have been Job. Yet in all his anguish, he fell down and worshipped and cried those immortal words “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) These were not the words of a man untouched by grief. It was the confession of a man who believed in God even when life became unbearable.

This is important for us to remember: Biblical joy in trials is not pretending that suffering does not hurt. Job tore his mantle, shaved his head, sat in ashes, and grieved. Scripture does not ask us to deny sorrow. Rather, it teaches us to “count” our trials as joy. To “count” means to “deem, reckon, account, esteem”. It is a matter of the mind renewed by the truth of God, and not of the heart. We reckon by faith that our trial, however painful, is not meaningless. We acknowledge that God has a purpose in it. We believe that the same hand that permits affliction is the hand of a Father who loves His children perfectly. Joy, then, is not shallow cheerfulness. It is a deep confidence that God is at work for our good even when we do not understand why.

James gives us a sequence in James 1:3-4 that helps us understand why joy is possible: trials lead to the trying of faith; the trying of faith works patience; patience, when allowed to have its perfect work, leads to spiritual completeness. This means that the trial itself is not the final story. God uses it as an instrument. He refines faith through trials. He teaches us endurance by asking us to remain under what we would naturally want to escape. He develops spiritual maturity through it. What we call trouble, God calls sanctification. What we call loss is used by God to make us “perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

We see this patience in Job not as passive resignation but as steadfast perseverance. He did not understand what God was doing. He wrestled. He asked questions. He groaned under the weight of sorrow. His wife urged him to abandon integrity. His friends accused him and misread his suffering. Still, Job did not let go of God. Even when confused, he stayed in the relationship. When he could not explain his pain, he asked God. This is a precious lesson for every believer: patience is not resignation; it is clinging to God while the storm still rages. It is saying, with trembling lips, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15)

We know from God’s revelation (but not Job) how Satan could not touch Job without divine permission. Although the boundaries of Job’s suffering were drawn, it did not mean that there would be no suffering. Knowing this should change the meaning of all that ‘happens’ in our lives. Our afflictions are never random. They are never outside the notice of heaven. The Lord does not refine His people carelessly. He is like the wise refiner who knows how long the silver must remain in the furnace and how hot the fire should be. God does not abandon His children to destruction. He refines them with measured wisdom, holy purpose, and covenant love.

Let’s learn briefly about Job’s encounter with God from Job 38–41.  God speaks to Job in two speeches, asking over 70 rhetorical questions to reveal Job’s ignorance and God’s sovereign wisdom.  The first speech (Job 38:1–40:2, about 41 questions) focuses on the created order: the cosmos, weather, stars and wild animals, showing that only God knows, sustains, and governs them. The second speech (Job 40:6–41, about 30 more questions) challenges Job more directly: can he govern the world, uphold justice, or master creatures like Behemoth and Leviathan?

These questions left Job, who asked God so many questions, silent and humbled: “Behold, I am vile… I will lay mine hand upon my mouth” (Job 40:4). God answered Job’s questions with questions. God’s purpose was not to silence Job, but to humble him, expose the limits of his understanding, redirect his focus from suffering to God’s majesty, and restore his relationship with Him.

The lesson is that when we do not understand God’s ways, we should not challenge Him as though He must answer us. Instead, we should submit humbly, trust His wisdom, and rest in what He has revealed in Scripture.

Job learned that peace does not come from having all the answers. Peace comes from knowing that God holds every answer. When Job ‘saw’ God more clearly, his demands quieted, his pride melted, and his heart bowed in worship.

This is often the Lord’s way with us as well. We ask, “Why me? Why this loss? Why now? Why this trial, this waiting, this disappointment, this weakness?” God wants us to rest not in explanations, but in His wisdom. He reminds us that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. He invites us to trust what we do know when we cannot understand what we do not know. We know that He is righteous. We know that He is wise. We know that He is faithful. We know that He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. If He has loved us so greatly in Christ, then we may be sure that even our trials are not purposeless.

Job’s final completeness (the end of the sequence in James 1:3-4) was not merely that God graciously restored his fortunes and he had a new family. The perfect work was spiritual. He moved from hearing about God to seeing God with the eyes of faith (Job 42:5). His confidence was purified. His joy was no longer tied to possessions, health, human approval, or earthly security. His joy rested in God Himself. This is the perfection James points us toward. To be “perfect and entire, wanting nothing” does not mean a life free from pain. It means a heart so anchored in God that no change can destroy the inward peace we have. It means that the soul has learned, through many tears, that God is enough.

If you are in a season of trials today, do not conclude that God has forgotten you. Do not assume that suffering means His absence. The furnace is often the place where faith is purified and where the Lord makes Himself known more deeply and intimately. Bring your grief honestly to Him. Mourn, pray, and pour out your questions. But do not let go of Him. Do not doubt Him. Count your trial as joy—despite the pain, knowing what it will be in the end. Ask Him for patience. Ask Him to finish His good work in you. Amen.