The Joy of Struggle

Isn’t it just a joy when difficulty and struggle come our way?

Most of us would probably say, “Wait, what? Are you kidding me?!”

The first reading from today, however, invites us to “consider it all joy…when you encounter various trials (James 1:2).” 

How can James be serious?

Perhaps it could be good to start with some definitions. I know that I have often heard joy and happiness used somewhat interchangeably. In recent years, however, I have appreciated the distinctions between the two. 

I recently saw a post that referred to happiness as a feeling based on circumstances. Thus when the circumstances change, the feelings change. Joy, however, is more of an attitude or posture towards life that exists regardless of circumstances.

Using these distinctions it becomes possible to be unhappy with how things are going and still find joy.

James goes on to suggest that we would also be good to not “suppose we will receive anything from God.” This is not because God doesn’t want us to have good things and live a full life. What I think James is getting at here is attending to our expectations and entitlements so that we will cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” for whatever blessings (great or small) come our way.

In so many ways, I have often found that it is the people with the “least” who have taught me the most about gratitude!

In my life, I have found gratitude and joy to be very correlated, and the more grateful I can be, the more joy I seem to find.

One of the practices that has been very useful to me is the Ignatian “examen.” You can read much more about it here: https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/the-ignatian-examen/

St. Ignatius invited his followers (and now us) to reflect on where God has shown up in our day – with all of its consolations and desolations. This reorients us.  It encourages us to reflect on what we are most and least grateful for on any given day and helps to encourage a disposition of gratitude that, I think, makes the joy that James speaks of possible.

I should also say that the counsel to find joy and gratitude in struggle does not mean that we should just passively accept injustice, inequality, oppression, mistreatment, etc. Just the opposite, this disposition invites us to situate ourselves in the world in a way that acknowledges harm, invites us to feel it and then discern what actions might then draw us closer to God and God’s plan (and God’s plan for the world).

A lot could be said about the examen (and I am certainly not doing it full justice here in 2 paragraphs!), but it is one spiritual tool to help us to embody the words of James (and the life and witness of Jesus).

The Buddhist tradition has also been a great resource for me related to finding joy. In fact the pithy tongue-in-cheek teaching by Zen teacher Charlotte Jo Beck is a great reminder that, “Joy is exactly what is happening, minus our opinion of it.”

As we move through this day and this week, my hope is that we accept James’ invitation to find joy in the highs and lows – knowing that our God is with us through it all.