Joy in Suffering

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds.” – James 1:2a

Let’s be honest. Have you ever read one of God’s commands in Scripture and found yourself saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me! God, what were you thinking?”

Here’s an example. In James 1:2-4, the Bible tells us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

There’s no way around it. That sounds like crazy talk. Are you kidding me, God? When I get a pink slip from my boss, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my doctor says, “The cancer is back,” I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my car breaks down on the side of the road, or my marriage is on the rocks or my dog bites me in the leg, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy?

Yes, you are. But how is that possible? I’m so glad you asked. Today I’d like to share with you two ways that you and I can experience joy in the midst of the trials and suffering of this life.

The first thing you and I must do if we are going to experience lasting joy in this life is this: Remain in Christ’s presence. In John 15, Christ told his disciples,“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love…. I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

I don’t know about you, but complete joy sounds really good to me. I don’t want just a sliver of joy. I don’t want a polluted mixture of joy and something else. After all, who wants a mixture of joy and lousiness? But the fact is, one of the reasons so many Christians struggle with sadness and depression is because they live their daily lives apart from Christ. Sure, we believe in him. Yes, we worship him on Sunday mornings. But we don’t remain in his love throughout the week. We can’t just open our Bibles for 30 to 40 minutes on a Sunday morning and call it quits till next week.

To remain in Christ’s love, we need to remain in his teaching and remain in prayer. But interestingly, Jesus doesn’t mention either of these two depression-busters in this John 15 passage. He simply says that if we desire to remain in his love, we must obey his commands—especially his command to love each other. So if you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, ask yourself: "Have I disconnected myself from Christ’s joy by failing to obey his command to love others?” You see, when we get depressed, too often it’s because we’re too caught up in our own little world. Are you bummed out because you’re living paycheck to paycheck? Well, join the club. Take the little bit you do have and be a blessing to someone who has even less. Your health isn’t great? Well, I guarantee there are plenty of others whose health is even worse. Be a blessing to them—show them Christ’s love. There is great joy in the presence of the Lord. Remain in his love, and you’ll discover that peace and joy aren’t nearly as elusive as they used to be.

God’s second piece of advice for bringing more joy into your life may surprise you: Spend more time in heaven. What does that mean? No, I’m not trying to send you off to push up daisies before your time. Instead, live out Colossians 3:1-4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Isn’t that good? You’ve probably heard people say, “Get your head out of the clouds!” But God’s word says, “No! Put your head in the clouds! What you need is to get your head out of the dirt! You’re not an ostrich! You’re not a prairie dog! You’re not a gopher! Your heart needs to rise above the dirt of this world and beat for heavenly things. And your mind needs to rise above the dirt of this world and think about heavenly things.”

Paul says it there in Colossians 3:1: “You have been raised with Christ.” On that first Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and the light of dawn came rushing into that tomb. And when you became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, his light came rushing into your sorry tomb as well. If you’re a Christian, you’re not hopelessly surrounded by dirt anymore. You’re not a prisoner of complete darkness anymore. Your body has already been set free from the grave. Your heart and your mind have already been released from the prison of this world.

So, get up out of the dirt and soar into the clouds. Set your heart and mind on things above. If you do, no matter what trials this dirty old world sends your way, you’ll be able to count it all joy.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Is Your Fruit Sour?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:6

When I lived in Victorville, I had two grapevines in my backyard. Every spring they grew like weeds—long branches and lush green leaves. But the grapes were tiny and more bitter than Sour Patch Kids. Sadly, the spiritual grapes in many Christians’ lives are just as small and sour. What can we do to produce something sweeter?

Grapes, vineyards and wine were all very relatable to people in Jesus’ time. So it’s not surprising that Jesus used a vineyard for his analogy when he made his final “I am” statement to his disciples: “I AM the true vine.” In the opening verses of chapter 15, Jesus sets the stage for his beautiful metaphor of the grapevine. He reveals the cast of characters: the true vine, Jesus Christ; the gardener, God the Father; and the branches, Christ’s followers. And Jesus goes on to make it clear that as his branches, we are to produce spiritual fruit.

Now, just so we’re clear on this, when God’s word speaks of bearing “spiritual fruit,” that includes the nine fruits of the spirit described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are character-based fruit. But God also wants to us to bear ministry-based fruit. He wants to see you humbly serving others for their good. He wants to see you using your unique spiritual gifts to help grow Christ’s church. And most of all, He wants to see you leading people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When it comes to spiritual fruit, Jesus is interested in both quality and quantity. And in John 15:2, Jesus talks about different stages of fruit growing in a Christian’s life: those who bear no fruit, those who bear some fruit, those who bear more fruit, and those who bear much fruit. It’s my hope that you want to live a life full of big, fat, juicy spiritual fruit. But before we get there, we’re likely to spend some time in the first three categories. For the sake of space, today I’m going to focus on the first category: those who bear no fruit.

If you’re bearing no fruit, at first glance, things look pretty bad for you. Jesus starts off verse 2 by saying that the Father “cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.” It certainly sounds like Jesus is saying that Christians who don’t bear fruit will be cut off from Christ. But that doesn’t jibe with what we read elsewhere in the New Testament about Jesus never leaving us or forsaking us. And in a wonderful book based on John 15, Secrets of the Vine, author Bruce Wilkinson makes an interesting observation: the Greek word that is translated “cuts off” is more literally translated as “takes up.”

Now, it could mean “take up” in the sense of cutting off the branch and throwing it away. But it could also mean “take up” in the sense of “lifting up” the branch for its own good. You see, while researching his book, Pastor Wilkinson had coffee with the owner of a large California vineyard. He learned that new branches on a grapevine tend to trail down and grow along the ground. But they don’t grow any fruit down there. Instead, the leaves become coated with dust, mud and eventually mildew. Left that way, those branches become sick and useless. But a good gardener, or vine dresser, doesn’t leave them down there, and he doesn’t cut them off. As the vineyard owner explained, “The branch is much too valuable for that.”

Instead, the vine dresser goes through the vineyard with a bucket of water, looking for those branches that are trailing in the dirt. He lifts them up, washes them off, and wraps them around the trellis or ties them up. Pretty soon they’re thriving. Doesn’t that sound a lot like Jesus? He lifts us up, cleanses us and helps us flourish again.

If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to discipline you and set you growing in the right direction. That discipline may come in the form of illness, a lost job, a broken relationship, or a pierced conscience. So, if you’re experiencing pain or hardship, it’s a good idea to ask yourself: “Is the pain the result of some sin in my life? Is God disciplining me?”

If the answer is “Yes,” only humble repentance and obedience to God’s word will make the hardship go away. But if the answer is “No”—if there’s no apparent sin in your life that God is disciplining—rest assured, God is still working for your good. Next week we’ll talk about the somewhat painful, but very fruitful, process of pruning—and the ultimate spiritual rewards for those who bear much fruit.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.