Message Summary
Can you recall the last time you were truly happy or joyful? It may have been something like your wedding day or when a child was born, maybe when you graduated from college. But it probably wasn’t in the midst of suffering. However, Scripture speaks of joy in both good times and bad; in times of blessing and persecution. This is often foreign to us. In the United States, even the poor are richer and more well off than those living in other places in the world. The same could be said of the persecution of Christians. In this country persecution often involves no more than words. However, in other places believers are tortured and killed for their faith. Today we will look at the aspect of joy that endures in suffering.

Passages for Discussion

Philippians 4:4–7 Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1. How often are we to rejoice? What all does that include?
2. In whom are we to rejoice?
3. Why can we rejoice, even in times of difficulty and suffering? See vv. 5, “The Lord is at hand.”
4. How does this relate to how we are to pray in the midst of suffering?
5. What is promised to those who trust the Lord in the midst of suffering?

James 1:2–4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1. When are we to count it all joy?
2. How do suffering in trials relate to one’s faith?
3. What does suffering produce?
4. Do you think if one faces suffering and does not count it all joy that it will produce steadfast faith in the one who suffers? What good is it to suffer if it is not done trusting the Lord and counting it all joy?
5. Does this mean we are to enjoy suffering? Where is our joy to be placed (cf. Phil 4:4)?

Application
What then are we to make of today’s study? I don’t think we go searching for suffering. But when it does come (and it will come), we must be prepared, like Jesus, to endure it for the joy set before us (Heb 12:2). There are some things we can do to change our mind and heart to prepare us for when suffering comes.

1. Pray. This is simple and often overlooked. But we often have not because we ask not. If we pray asking the Lord to prepare us to suffer well, in a manner that gives him glory, he will answer that prayer.
2. Read some of the prayers found in Scripture. Go back and read Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46). Jesus asks the Father that if there is another way, a way without suffering and death, to do it. Yet, not his will but the will of the Father. Another group of prayers are those of the early church as it faced persecution. For instance Acts 4:23–32. In the midst of suffering the church does not pray to be delivered, or for God to make things easier for them. Rather they prayed, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (vv. 29–30).

Further Study
For more on joy in the midst of suffering you could read:
1. Foxes’ Book of Martyrs, which recounts the joy of in the midst of suffering by the earliest martyrs of the Christian church.
2. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. One of the letter’s central themes is joy, even in times of discomfort.