Pain, Perseverance, and Pure Joy

James is not saying, “Pretend suffering is something it’s not.” Yes, “consider” is a cognitive term, but that is because changing emotion starts with changing thinking. Emotion is the result of interpretations of situations weighed against the norms of your beliefs and values. Consider trials joy by interpreting them as being good things from God, by believing that they are refining tests that produce perseverance, and value perseverance highly as that which will make you mature and complete.