James 1:2 says, “My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into or encounter challenges of every sort.” Now, we already know that we aren’t naturally wired to experience joy in conflicts. So James has to be talking about something else here that isn’t natural or par for the course for most humans. Something isn’t quite right about this declaration in our day to day living as we know it. And this is exactly what James is referring to. He is referring to our supernatural side, not our natural side, that has the capability of experiencing this. The born again side of our bodies is wired or created to experience a whole new life full of new opportunities. You can’t walk out or experience what the Bible is talking about in your carnal suit. It just isn’t going to happen.

In our natural bodies, we actually experience the exact opposite of what James is talking about here in this verse. It is the exact opposite of joy. These stressful situations in life we confront is what keeps the medical industry raking in billions of dollars every year. It’s not just the unsaved that is stressed out, I’m also talking about the saved. So, in today’s blog, let’s take a look at this scripture again and see how it can be possible to make this declaration of joy a reality in our life at some point. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but if we get started on it today, then in 30, 60 or 90 days down the road, you should begin to see and feel the results of joy operating in your life under these challenging circumstances.

The reality is this: The sinful nature of the flesh we are all housed in will be with us until we take on our incorruptible bodies and live in the new heaven and the new earth forever. No matter when you were saved, or how long you’ve been saved, or how spiritual you think you are, you were still brought into this world with the sin nature of the flesh with all the fallen forces of darkness all around you. We all continue to daily fall into stressful, challenging, test and trials with our fallen nature still intact. This is a reality that all believers face. It is a challenge to even the most experienced and well-seasoned Christians on the planet. No one escapes this reality because there are no demilitarized zones on the planet.

The only way you can count it all joy as James is referring to here is to have a “joy reserve”. You have to have the fruit of joy grown in your life to be able to draw upon it. The question you have to ask yourself is this, ‘Can I count on joy being there when I need it?’ Only you can answer that. The only way it can be there is if you took steps to put it there. It just isn’t going to mysteriously appear out of nowhere. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and it is to be sown and grown into you supernatural body. It has to be a living, mature fruit, operating in your born again spirit. Joy doesn’t mature in one season. It takes several seasons of growth to bring it to full fruition, and then you have to stay on top of it like you would any natural grown fruit