Count It All Joy4 min read

I have two tattoos— the words “The Anchor Holds” on the side of my right wrist and on my left back shoulder a phrase plucked from James 1:2 “Count it all joy.”

The first my sister and I got as a tribute to our dad shortly after he passed away. “The Anchor Holds” is a Ray Boltz song he used to sing, but it also beautifully nods to the unwavering, steady faith he modeled for us.

The second I got as a reminder to myself to choose joy. The phrasing “count it all joy” comes from the NKJV, but the New Living Translation puts the verse this way, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” This passage of James was a revelation to me as I walked out of a season of depression brought on by severe anxiety— Not only could I choose joy, I should choose joy? In the middle of my messy troubles? The worst moments of my life? I should just see it as an opportunity to practice some joy? Okay, sure.

But I decided if I believed the word and the word said I could, then it must be true. I could find joy even in life’s ugliest moments. I studied every verse I could find in the Bible that had the word “joy” or “rejoice” in it. I put it to the test. And my daily (sometimes hourly, sometimes constantly) mantra became “Count it all joy.”

The easiest (maybe read “only”) way I found to count it all joy? Spending time in the presence of the Joy-Giver. Psalm 16:11 says that in God’s presence there’s fullness of joy and in His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Joy isn’t a fleeting sense of happiness, it is a constant reassurance we find in His presence. Isaiah 35:10 says when we enter singing, we will be crowned with everlasting joy, and sorrow and mourning will be replaced with gladness. God is the source of our joy and He’s just waiting to lavish us with it.

Okay now, honesty hour?

Although “count it all joy” is permanently etched into my skin, lately it’s felt more like a taunt than a reminder.
This situation sucks. Count it all joy, Marilla.
I miss my life. Count it all joy, Marilla.
So many people are sick, hurting, or lonely! Count it all joy, Marilla.
Will it ever end? Count it all joy, Marilla.

Taunt. Taunt. Taunt. Taunt.

Today as I sat in the chaos of my kids screaming, ankle elevated and iced because of an overuse injury, angry I could no longer workout to cope with this isolation, facing difficult choices I never dreamed of making, lonely and frustrated, the taunt grew even louder— Count it all joy, Marilla.

And I found myself screaming back, “I don’t want to! I just want to throw a fit and wallow, okay? I don’t want to look for the joy in any of this!”

You want to know if I actually screamed that, don’t you? Well, to satisfy your curiosity, no, I didn’t literally scream. But I did audibly cry it in the shower.

And as the words reached my ear, the taunt turned back into a reminder, and that reminder revealed what it’s always been— an invitation:
Count it all joy, Marilla. Come into my presence and find what you desperately need. Spend time with me. Stay awhile. I’m not scared of your mess. I’m not concerned with your bad attitude. I’m not surprised by your running. I’m just here, waiting for you to remember I’m enough. That I have more than enough. That in me you’re more than enough. I’m giving peace away for free. I’m heaping on the hope, handing out more mercy than you could handle. You’ve never had to earn it, I’ve never required anything of you. Joy is a gift, don’t you remember? Just abide with me and you will. Come, count it all joy. I’ll show you how.

Too much vulnerability maybe, but as always, I’m just out here throwing myself under the bus so that if you’re feeling anything similar, we can learn and grow together.

Friend, this is a hard time, but I urge you to count it all joy. That doesn’t mean pretend to be happy when you’re going through hell. It means spending time with the the Joy-Giver, letting HIs presence fill you up with what you’re yearning for. It means reminding your soul of His goodness and promise that He’s always with you making a way where we can’t see it. He is offering us a never-ending well, but we have to remember to draw from it.

Accept the invitation– Count it all joy.