Perseverance equals joy

​In my lifetime, I have seen the rapid development of technology, of medicines, of knowledge, and yet - for many - life still seems to feel much too hard. In a world constantly pursuing an easier way, there are many indicators that people feel as mentally and emotionally and physically uneasy as ever.

At the heart of this, I think, is the constant fight against reality. It's a fight against accepting that life is hard. We are indeed a world fighting an uphill battle while longing to find a way to coast downhill.

That easy day is not coming. We somehow keep proving that truth while refusing to believe it.

As I make meaning of the world, as I search for wisdom, one of the truer pieces I've discovered is that the people who seem to experience the most joy in life are folks who embrace the reality that life is hard.

They not only embrace it, but they lean into it.

In the bible, James tells us, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Is James really telling us that joy is found in perseverance? The kind of joy that will make us feel like we have it all?

Last summer, the boys and I were hiking to the top of a mountain. We'd been told the view was spectacular. On the way up we passed an older couple on their way down. I was stopped, panting and resting and guzzling water. I jokingly asked the couple (or maybe not so jokingly), is it worth going the rest of the way?

They smiled. A smile that said, oh yes. Oh yes it is.

They were right. It was worth it. The joy we felt looking at the world at the end of that climb could never have been experienced at our stopping point.

It's true. Joy is found in the continuing.

Joy is found when I finish an article I don't want to finish.

Joy is found at the finish line of a marathon I wanted to quit at on mile 18.

Joy is found showing up for the work assignment I wanted to call in sick for.

I have a lot of running friends. If I told any of them there was a pill that would simulate the joy they get from running ten miles, they'd refuse the pill and run the ten miles.

I'm sure of it.

Because they've discovered that joy is in the chance to keep going when there are many invitations along the way to quit.

Wanting to quit is a fact of life. Because life is so uphill, there will be plenty of invitations to stop. To throw in the towel. To look at pictures of the mountain top instead of experiencing it yourself.

But at the same time, there are plenty of invitations to keep going.

Maybe that's the shift in mindset some of us need. Start accepting that life isn't tempting you to quit, it's inviting you to keep going.

Because whether you believe James or whether you believe the many who have kept going when life felt intimidatingly uphill, joy is found in the perseverance.

This world will never advance itself beyond that truth.

So maybe today we embrace that great truth. Life is hard. And not embrace it as a threat, but an invitation.

An invitation to joy.