As we engage with God in the classroom of rejoicing, one of the first things He will do is change our perspective on suffering and persecution. From our human perspective, suffering and persecution threaten our happiness and comfort. They don’t feel good. However, joy is not a feeling. Joy is a choice. In trials, we can choose to rejoice, despite our feelings. God longs to mature us so that instead of following our feelings, we follow Jesus, our mighty Savior Who endured trials with joy! 

To rejoice in suffering and persecution is not a natural response to us. But the good news is, this response is natural to Jesus! This is the way He responds, and this is how He will respond through us if we allow Him to. When trials come, God calls us to step into Jesus’ supernatural response and respond with rejoicing. In this, our display of joy in trials is how we can showcase Jesus’ life to the world!