Consider It

This verse can be hard to swallow. When tears are plentiful and answers are few, it’s hard to be joyful. And though I know there are many more serious trials than my weight struggles, issues in this area make me feel vulnerable, incapable, and insecure. Not joyful.

I find it hard to “consider it pure joy.” However, one reason the phrase “consider it” starts off this teaching in James is because we will probably not feel it. In the midst of a trial, we will probably not feel the joy, the hope, or the encouragement tucked within this verse—we have to consider it.

On your healthy eating journey there will be times when you face trials. You may not have considered them trials in the past. But when you’re tempted to stray from the commitment to make healthier choices, it’s a trial.

Perhaps you, like me, have faced this scenario. You enter a restaurant enthused with your plan to order the tropical salad with grilled chicken. You actually like this yummy salad and know that you will be satisfied with this healthy dish. But then the juiciest, most tempting bacon cheeseburger with a large side of French fries presents itself as an option. Of course, it’s the feature photo on the menu and a platter is being delivered to the next table just before the server comes to take your order. I know, we’ve all been there — this is a trial.

We had decided ahead of time on a satisfying salad. But in a moment of weakness, the justifications for a burger and fries start rolling around in our minds.

Certainly moderation is good. And had we budgeted for a burger that day, so be it. But if we decided ahead of time that a salad would be the satisfying choice, we’d do well to stick with what we’d decided before the moment of temptation.

It’s so easy to slip into an all-out reversal of all our progress, so we have to be careful. Remember, our ultimate goal is peace — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If this meal choice threatens to send us into a tailspin of feeling defeated the minute we take the last bite, it’s not worth it.

Every time we face this moment we have to “consider it.” We have to consider it because we will not feel joyful in the moment. We may feel deprived, jealous, and deserving. Or we may feel in the moment that the splurge will not affect us at all. But we have to consider it. Our feelings may be a true indicator of what we are facing, but they don’t need to dictate our decisions.

We have to consider it and park our minds on the truth that our triumph in this trial matters. Triumph in this choice will produce a blessing. According to James, the blessing we have to consider is this: “that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).

Oh sister, isn’t this the heart of what we seek in our lives? I want to be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Therefore, I will persevere in the midst of this decision. I will choose the better option. And instead of feeling deprived when my salad arrives, I will rejoice. Because tucked in with the lettuce and grilled chicken is the realization I am capable of self-control. How good it is to consider the joy! And usually, by the time I’m leaving the restaurant having feasted on the healthier option, I also feel the joy.