Rediscovering JoySample

“...sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” - 2 Corinthians 6:10

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4

Perhaps you have read passages such as these and have wondered how continual rejoicing is possible with so many other things striving to snuff out our joy on a daily basis—social media threatens to bring us down, an unkind comment seeks to take us under, bad news knocks at our door. 

Joy, for many of us, is synonymous with good news. 

But what if it isn’t? In fact, what if the opposite were actually true—that joy was felt even more deeply in times of suffering and hardship? 

S.D. Gordon, a minister who served in the YMCA in the late 19th century, authored a series of books on different topics under the banner of “Quiet Talks on…” Gordon once penned these words concerning joy: “Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens. Only Jesus gives that joy. He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross.”

When we have Jesus, we can deal with any and all circumstances in our lives. There is never a moment when the calm delight of joy is not available to us. 

Throughout all of Scripture–from the time God Himself clothed Adam and Eve after they had sinned to the time when Joshua faced an army head on until the time when Jesus gave us His very presence in the Person of the Holy Spirit—we have always had access to God’s goodness and delight. 

Deuteronomy 31:6 reads, “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6). Romans 8:38-39 implores: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Bask in that knowledge today. Even when all seems dark around you, God’s light shines brighter if we turn our face upwards to His! Take a few minutes to do that today. 

As we emerge from a year which saw so much heartache, we can be certain of this: There is never a moment when joy is beyond our reach. “Take it!” God whispers. Take the gift of joy. 

Tomorrow, we will look at myth #3: that joy is the opposite of sadness.