Proverbs 24:10-12
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Even though it really really hurts, I am experiencing a joy that's not my own.
God expects us to read our Bibles, to pray, and to worship him alone. If we do this and we find joy in the good times, will there be a joy in the difficult times?
Christ said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Then Paul responds, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So we can find joy even in difficult times, even in our weakest moments!
Christ died and suffered a death apart from God the Father on my behalf. I will never be expected to suffer what he suffered because I can't. However, "I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). The suffering we experience in this world can never be compared to joy that awaits believers in eternity.
It is in these weak moments that others observe us. If believers are able to function with God’s grace when experiencing the pain we deserve and not act like the world in its hopelessness and despair, God can use us for his pleasure. In losing those so dear to us, in experiencing physical ailments, pain, and humiliation—these should be the times when our faith in the risen Lord is seen to be real by friends, family, and coworkers. God can, "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter" because of what they see in a genuine Christian's faith, especially in adversity.