No joy in Mudville?

What do you suppose is the hardest thing about being a Christian? Have you ever thought about that? I was thinking about this subject last night. There are many difficulties that we face as Christians.
“Turning the other cheek”, finding the will of God for our lives, and resisting temptation are all difficult, but perhaps the most difficult is to be “joyful” when you fall into various trials. As ordinary humans we find some of God’s commands impossible to follow. Jesus is the only person who ever lived on this earth who could follow them; however, He was divine.

The Bible has quite a lot of material in it regarding experiencing trials and tribulations. Christians read that trials are going to come our way. We are told that the ultimate result is to our benefit. We are told that God will be with us every step of the way and He will help us withstand the onslaught. We are told to be “joyful” when we experience trials. How hard is that? What if your spouse filed for divorce and ran off with your best friend, you lost your job, you were told that you have a terminal illness, and your kids were arrested for taking drugs? Sound joyful? As a Christian you know that this life is but a vapor and eternity is forever. The temporal pain that we suffer now will be replaced with eternal unimaginable happiness. Our current suffering builds patience and endurance. It all “sounds” logical, yet
logic does little to ease pain and worry.

What is the answer? God is the only answer. We must pray without ceasing. I assume that our prayer should not be for the trials to be taken away, but that God would build strength within us to endure whatever is served up to us. Prayer for patience and perseverance and for God to provide what we cannot provide for ourselves is the only answer I can come up with. God wants us to realize that we must rely on “Him”, not ourselves. Everything in this world is temporary aside from God and our eternal spirits. The quicker that we can realize this and turn over our problems to Him and “trust” Him to take care of them, the better. There can be no “joy in Mudville” apart from God.

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James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect
work, that you may be perfect and
complete lacking nothing.