Let’s Find Joy in the Storm

My husband and I share a family joke; he always quotes James 1:2-3 (see below) to me at the funniest times - when I am faced with something silly that I don’t really want to do. Out comes this scripture, and he roars with laughter. Of course, it corrects my attitude if it has gone awry a bit, but it is more than that. I saw how powerful it was, as the enemy hates joy!

James 1:2-3 (NIV):

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

Last year, one of my daughters had a baby six weeks early, and after a week in the hospital, she returned home. The little boy was very well - small, quite frail, but well. Within a few days, he picked up a bug from his older brother, and within a frighteningly short time, he was on the point of death. We and he fought for his life and finally came home nearly 3 weeks later. He then began to vomit very badly, so he went back into the hospital. Sadly, he was misdiagnosed for 8 days. He was dying before our eyes, and we could get no sense out of the hospital. Finally, they discovered what was wrong, and he needed an operation. He was very frail and tiny by this stage; he survived the operation, and for some hours, we were so relieved. Suddenly, all his organs began to fail, and his vital signs plummeted. The hospital thought that we might lose him. They discovered they had made a hole in his stomach in the last operation, and he needed another operation to mend their mistake. This little boy was in a very fragile state - by this time, he had had no food for about 12 days.

I remember the moment I heard this so well. I was sitting at the table with friends - I jumped up and ran into the sitting room, and I started rejoicing in the fact that I had a faithful Father. He is not a Father that will fail me. My conviction of that is so deep, so I began to worship Him, standing in the spirit over my grandson. I worshipped and worshipped, rejoicing in His faithfulness until I knew that things had shifted in the spirit. My grandson would be safe.