Suffering produces spiritual fruit, not the opposite of prosperity. James 1:2 says to count trials as joy because testing builds patience. The speaker shares how joy became his only weapon through a difficult year, arguing that what sustains you through pain equips you to help others.
You need to learn how to suffer because suffering is prosperity. Now let me explain. Probably been taught that prosperity is a lack of suffering. Prosperity is when everything goes well, but that's not what the Bible says. When you read the book of James chapter 1 and verse 2, it says, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. So hard times produces good fruit, and patience is a fruit, and all the fruits of the Spirit is how God prospers you. So if your suffering produces fruit suffering is prosperity. And if you don't understand this, you are going to take every opportunity that God wants to use to bring joy into your life as an attack of the enemy. The enemy can't give you joy. So if his attack, if the trials, if the tribulations produces joy, knowing that you've already won— and I needed to learn this when I was going through a very difficult situation a year ago. The only weapon that I had to get through was joy. And the reason why God wants to test your faith like this is because the thing that helps you through the pain is the thing that will help others. So the moment that you overcome it, scripture says now you have the ability to help others. What you are going through is bigger than just you. It's for the people around you. So for the sake of them and their win, conquer.
