Count it All Joy!
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.
This is not something we would ever do. If we were in the middle of a temptation, where the devil was harassing us morning, noon, and night, our first thought would not be to count it all joy. He didn’t say it was joyous, but to “count it all joy.” First, we understand because it is a temptation, that this is not coming from God. Verse 13 of this chapter clearly tells us that God is not tempted with evil, and He doesn’t tempt us with evil. Temptation clearly comes from the devil and that temptation is meant to move us. The Holy Ghost said it this way to me, “A test comes to prove you and a temptation comes to move you.” So now, we clearly know this is the devil’s attempt to move us, but the Word of God’s answer is to count it all joy.
How do we count it all joy? When I think of joy, the first thing I think of is rejoicing. We are told to rejoice always. So, since we should be rejoicing anyway, during the temptation we should add some extra rejoicing. We should open our mouth and shout unto God with a voice of triumph. We should use our breath to praise the Lord instead of lamenting over the harassment of the devil. We should, during this great time of conflict, do what the Apostle Paul did when the devil tried to kill him and everyone aboard the ship. He got in the belly of the ship and prayed right in the middle of the storm, and because he did, he heard from God. We can hear from God too! After He heard from God, he didn’t go up in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the temptation, and say they should all just give up and surrender to the fact that the devil wins, and they are all going to die. No! He told them to count it all joy. He said, “Cheer up.” They followed the instructions the Lord gave to Paul, and they were all delivered alive; and besides that, they had a revival on the island they got stranded on. When I think of joy and cheering up, I think laughter. The Bible has a lot to say about laughter.
When was the last time, after the devil gave you his best shot, you just laughed? Laughter will confuse the devil. It will put him on the run! Stop right now and count it all joy!