When you think of “Joy in the Lord” do you always associate it with a smile on the face no matter the circumstances? Does Joy in the Lord always mean we are upbeat, with no care in the world? Is morning and grieving a normal thing for a Christian? Can it be mixed with joy in the Lord?
You and I may have a misunderstanding of what it means to have joy in the Lord? Last week I learned something about joy that was completely unexpected.
I was trying to comfort a friend, and words came out of my mouth that I did not plan nor expect to say. I was shocked when they did. Why was I shocked? Because I am one, who associates joy with a smile on the face no matter what is going on good or bad. After all, is that not what Joy is? I do not think that anymore. Let me tell you why.
Our Conversation About Joy
Joy was the topic of the day, and there was not a smile on our faces.
Our conversation was centered around a close friend and sister in the Lord, who recently found out she had cancer. There is no joy in that, and we were not wearing smiles when we found out! The conversation consisted of sadness and many tears.
We cried, mourned, and wept at the news!
During our conversation, my friend said, “I hope my sadness and crying does not show a lack of joy in the Lord.” I immediately replied, “Of course it doesn’t! Joy often comes with tears. In these God-ordained moments, we are showing our greatest joy, the strength supplied by our Lord!” It is what keeps up from getting tired, becoming weary, and throwing in the towel.
The Joy of the Lord is our Strength:
God never promised His children a suffering-free existence. His word tells us suffering is part of our calling. (1 Peter 2:20-21) In our days, weeks, even months of suffering, those times when we cannot muster up a smile, and we see things through blurry teared filled eyes, the joy we have in Christ is our strength, which gets us through.
I love this quote by Amy Wilson Carmichael. It is an excellent definition of Christian Joy.
“Joy is not gush. Joy is not mere jolliness. Joy is perfect acquiescence ~ acceptance, rest ~ in God’s will, whatever comes.” Amy Carmichael
This is a woman who learned joy through many years of suffering from neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end. In spite of this, she became a Christian missionary in India, where she served for 55 years without any time off. She saw the depravity of mankind through the missionary work she did with girls and young women, some of whom were saved from customs that amounted to forced prostitution. Hindu temple children were primarily young girls dedicated to the gods, then usually forced into prostitution to earn money for the priests. Amid this, her joy was in the Lord!
Delight: Triumph: Rejoicing
I looked up the word joy on an online dictionary, and it defined joy as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. It also listed several synonyms. Three of which were, Delight, Triumph, and Rejoicing. When we use these words in the context of suffering, they make no worldly sense. But, when used spiritually, they describe the believer’s joy perfectly. I am going to close with several verses of Scripture that will comfort you and me with the knowledge and truth that in all of our lives ups and downs, the Lord is our delight, God leads triumphantly through Christ, and in all circumstances, we can rejoice!
Psalm 94:19~ “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”
Psalm 119:143~” Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight.”
2 Corinthians 2:14~” But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
Psalm 51:8~” Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice.”
There is no greater joy than the strength of the Lord!
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