You're listening to Encounter.

A simple daily podcast made possible by listeners like you.

We hope to help you discover sacred moments in the middle of ordinary days.

And if you would enjoy greater access to even more free meditations, I encourage you to

download the encountering piece mobile app, where all the meditations are free, as they

should be.

Recently, early one morning, I had to visit our county courthouse to deal with a card title

issue.

On my way down the hall, I noticed crowds building outside of various courthouse couples

huddled together with their attorneys, waiting to go before a judge to hear their pleas.

I stood silently, watching from a distance, the looks of worry, shame, fear, many in tears.

I didn't know the details of any of their cases, but what I could see from their faces,

none of them were experiencing joy.

I suppose we each know those feelings, waking up in the morning of a particularly difficult

day ahead, facing a known trial, test, or hardship, and experiencing overwhelming agony.

What the theme for this meditation from James 1 is about how to experience joy during

ordeals, rather than agony, feeling delight over sorrow when facing your own trials.

So as we begin, rest here quietly and recall times of facing the agony of trials and testing,

through at the beginning or the end of your day, intentionally seek after joy as you

face those afflictions.

Start by taking three deep belly breaths, says your eyes drift, from open, into a soft gaze,

to finally closed, is trusting in this place of divine delight, this time of pleasure,

...