Count it All Joy: The Ridiculous Paradox of Suffering

Can joy come from suffering?

“…count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” James 1:2

We think of suffering as the worst of all evils. Our culture tells us to avoid it at all costs. But can suffering produce growth in us when we learn to endure it . . . then value it . . . then allow God to redeem it?

John Perkins’ response to suffering at the hands of a white sheriff in a Mississippi jail became the springboard that God used to put him in front of U.S. presidents, international politicians, and evangelical church leaders. Perkins sees endurance in suffering as a virtue that makes us more like Christ and ultimately produces uncommon joy in the heart of the sufferer who trusts in Him. Christ walked the path of love all the way to the cross, and even in the midst our brokenness, we can do the same.

In Count it All Joy, you will be encouraged to lean into suffering when it comes your way, stand alongside others who suffer, and believe that God will repurpose your suffering according to His good plan. God doesn’t intend your life to be free of all suffering. Instead, He wants you trust Him in the midst of it and discover the unexpected joy that trials can produce.