How can it be suggested to someone who just lost their job or home, received a terminal diagnosis, or even suffered the loss of a loved one — to choose joy? These horrible circumstances do not bring joy to our minds. I felt compelled to address this and certainly don’t want to be insensitive to those who might be suffering right now. As I write, I admit I wrestle too. Thinking back to a memory of when I was 17, learning that my dad had just died in an accidental death. Life changing … with no joy but overwhelming fear, anger, and confusion.
As we look at many of the verses about joy in the Bible they often include suffering or a trial. James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Or Romans 12:12: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction faithful in prayer.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Do you think He knew we would struggle with choosing joy? Joy is not happiness, and we know it is not something that just happens. It is a choice that we must submit to. Perhaps it is then we’re filled with His joy, as in “the joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
Can you think of a time when you’ve seen someone walking through a very difficult trial, yet they have a sense of “peace” about them? Their demeanor might even be characterized as joyful. It is unexplainable, yet profoundly evident. They might share that they know the Lord is with them in this, and they feel His great and mighty presence. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, THAT is JOY.
Paul is in jail he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:4-5). He continues to speak of not being anxious and praying for everything that leads to peace and the guarding of hearts and minds. If we can pause and take the focus off the trial through our prayers, we, too, can move forward. Slowly.
Here is a favorite of mine, Habakkuk 3:17-19: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to tread on the heights.”
What stands out most to me in this passage is this: “I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
By Tammy De Armas
EFCC Member