There is some really good advice given to us in James 1:2-5,
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  Is God trying to tell us we are lacking in these areas? 
I don’t know of anyone, including myself, that counts it all joy when trials come, so we have a ways to go in that area.  However, it doesn’t have to be that way, at least not as far as God is concerned.
Does He know something we don’t?  Is it really possible to “count it all joy” when you can’t find anything to be joyful about?  Yes, it is, and I’ll tell you how.  Well, at least I’ll tell you how I have to do it. 

The very next time you find yourself in less than your ideal situation, look around, and I mean really look around.  You only have to go as far as the news on TV.  Did you wake up this morning?  That’s more than tens of thousands of others did today.  Did you wake up to find a bomb crater where your house was yesterday?  Many in other parts of the world did.  Did you go to bed last night with enough food in your belly?  Many did not.  Can you see?  I personally know those who cannot.  Can you hear, walk and move about?  Do you know how many would jump at the chance to change places with you?  Even if your life is at an all-time low, it’s still far better than many others in this world have it.  You only have to look around to find many people much worse off than you. 

 
 God wants you to know that whatever you’re going through right now, like a bad taco, it too will pass…..and the mountain always looks taller from the valley.  We must all pass through valleys to truly appreciate the mountaintop experiences, and believe it or not, sooner or later you would even find something to complain about on the mountaintop.  Don’t ask me how I know this…..
 We need patience, and RIGHT NOW!   But the problem is, patience seldom comes “right now”, but is developed over time, and some of us need more of it than others.  It depends on how hard your particular head happens to be.  Mine can be pretty hard sometimes, so it takes me a little more “time in the barrel” to get it, but not as long as it used to, thank God.  You see, I’m a work in progress, as you are.  But the “work” progresses quicker as I become more thankful to God for His blessings. 

 
 Sometimes we wonder why God seems to be withholding blessings from us, why our prayers don’t get answered in the way we desire, or “suddenly”.  We all like our answers “suddenly”, don’t we?  We think God should work like a microwave oven in our lives, you know, “Oh God, please do so-and-so for me” and hit the “instant” button, and “Ding!”, it’s done.    Sorry, not today folks.  You see, we have another problem called “time”.  We are bound by it, but God isn’t. And no matter what time it is, God is always “I AM”.  Isn’t that handy?  He’s always right now when you need Him.
 That’s why it says in James 1:5, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  We need to know the difference between “Yes”, “No”, and “Not right now”.  And sometimes we lack wisdom in that area.  God isn’t holding out on you, but you have need of patience.  For example, when you need healing in your body, search the scriptures to see if you have something in them on which to base your faith for healing.  Ok, so far so good, there is plenty of evidence for that….God said “YES”.  Now, is He saying “Right now”?  Many times it happens that way, but not always.  Why?  There’s this thing about “According to your faith be it unto you”, according to Jesus (Matthew 9:29).  And that’s an area that can work on our patience.  You see, God has already done everything He’s ever going to do about your healing, Jesus paid for it in full over 2,000 years ago.  So, you aren’t waiting for Him, He’s waiting for you to line your faith up with His word.  And by the way, He gave you your faith in the first place, so you can be assured it will work.  God only makes good stuff.  You only have to use it.  God won’t do it for you.  If you’re wondering why things aren’t moving along, ask yourself, is my faith working according to God’s word?  If not, some adjustments may be needed.
 Your need doesn’t have to be healing.  There are about as many kinds of need as there are fleas on a hound dog.  But for every need, God has a perfect way to meet it.  HOWEVER….sometimes the answer is “Not right now”. Yeah, I know you don’t want to hear that, but have you ever told your own child “not right now”?  I rest my case.  The answer may well be “Yes”, but you have to remember: time is not everything, but timing is.  It is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”, and God sets everything in order in the time He sees best.  His purpose is to bring out the best in you, not to trash your life and make you miserable.  His purpose when you think you’ve spent too long “in the barrel” is to refine you, help you to learn patience, so that you aren’t moved by hard times.  He wants you to be able to maintain your cool when the devil turns up the heat under your little frying pan.  Why?  So He can give you the last laugh over the devil.
 Remember the story in Daniel 3?  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have undoubtedly liked to pass on their “invitation” to the King’s  Bar-B-Que inside his fiery furnace, and God did not deliver them “from” it, but He did deliver them “through” it, and not even a hair of them was singed.  You see, patience is a virtue, and they had it.  And we need it.  I’m not saying you’re headed for the fiery furnace, but in case you are, it could be worse…you could be going there alone without God.  Then you’d be in real trouble.  But if you will allow patience to have her perfect work in your life, you will see the glory of God, and you’ll never be sorry, even if you see the devil coming your way with a jar of BBQ sauce in his hand.  Remember, everything is planned out for your good in God’s perfect time, not necessarily yours.  And you know what they say; “Father knows best”.  God invented time, just so you could ask “What time is it?” 
 So what time is it?  Time to “Count it all joy.”