When my happiness fades away,
disappointment moves in to stay.
But his joy makes me strong!
It lifts me like a song!
It’s not laughter-dependent,
doesn’t need a comic moment—
not transient like a smile
that might last for a short mile
then gradually melt down,
maybe change into a frown
at the pain and deep distress
in my world’s sloppy mess.
My Master’s joy is potent,
rooted in truth and future portent,
fed by awareness of his goodness,
his grace and perfect purpose.
His plan cannot be strangled by
the storm that’s brewing in the sky,
the past or present frenzy.
He sees beyond what I can see.
Drinking it in, infused by him,
my worry fades to dim.
I can run a marathon
fueled by joy that doesn’t end,
does not grow sour, evaporate
or ever sadly dissipate.
Instead, its fragrance draws in
others, pointing back to him.
It strengthens my heartbeat,
energizes my weary feet—
teaches listening and wise words.
This is what my ears have heard:
Live within his joy and know
that he will never let you go!
Here we are in the Third Week of Advent, celebrating joy. In this season we are constantly reminded that joy has come to the world because the Lord has come! We sing “Joy to the World,” and remember what the angel told the shepherds that night long ago, just before a whole choir of angels burst into song:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord . . .” (Lk. 2:10-11 NIV)
When we truly focus our thoughts on that truth, those of us who know the Messiah can feel our inner being react with joy—maybe “leap with joy” like the baby in Elizabeth’s womb did when the Holy Spirit told her that the baby in Mary’s womb was the Lord himself (Luke 1:44). Joy is often a spontaneous reaction, one that occurs when we listen to good news or contemplate it. The LORD, Yahweh, even acknowledges that physical response is appropriate when his promises are fulfilled:
13 The LORD says, “At that time young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old men will rejoice. I will turn their grief into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow. 14 I will provide the priests with abundant provisions. My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.” (Jer. 31:13-14 NET)
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. (Ps. 33:1 NIV)
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music! (Ps. 98:4 NIV)
Joy then becomes part of worship, an outburst of praise to God.
But how about the rest of the time, when things are hard? How can this other Scriptural saying be a reality in our lives?
“the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10 NIV)
As a young girl I used to sing that song as a chorus, full of rhythmic joy. But later I began to wonder how it actually works out. How could I get strong, feeling joy from my God, when I was sad, disappointed, angry or suffering?
Looking at the context of the saying helps me to apply it. The exiles had just returned from captivity and were finally listening to God’s Word (the Law of Moses) as it was read aloud to them for hours, all morning. Those instructing them explained it so that they could understand. They were weary after the years of captivity, the long road to return. the work of rebuilding. And they were not sitting on chairs all that time while they listened outdoors! They even began crying as they began to understand how much they had not known, how little they had obeyed their God.
But Nehemiah told them to stop crying. Instead, they were to celebrate on this day that was set apart for Yahweh, a time for worship and rejoicing. “Do not grieve,” he said, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” . . .And the people went away to “celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” (Neh. 8:10,12b”
So that word came to them in a time of great conviction and grief. Yet if they understood it correctly, from the perspective of knowing that God Yahweh was truly in charge and good, constantly seeking his people, then they could have joy!
This is what I have been learning to apply over the years. Our choice of focus matters. I appreciate this way of describing the process:
“Happiness is an emotion that can disappear as quickly as it rises to the surface. Joy, however, is a choice. We have a choice. God gives us a joy that is unconquerable. We can choose to live in an attitude of resentment, anger and fear or we can choose to pursue the joy of Christ.”[1]
Making that choice to pursue joy means to trust in what we cannot see. This requires faith that affirms our hope (the emphases of the two previous weeks of Advent):
The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will remain unfulfilled. (Prov. 10:28 NET)
Focusing on who God is, that he is characterized by love and light, leads to joy in worship:
There I will go to the altar of God, to God — the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God! (Ps. 43:4 NLT)
Delving into his Word gives joy like what those exiles experienced as they listened to it. God’s words did that for the prophet Jeremiah even while he going through long years of suffering and of taking words of doom to his people. For him, there was also always also the promise that at the right time, God would bring deliverance:
As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you. (Jer. 15:16 NET)
Ah, there it is, the truth makes the whole difference: “because I belong to you.” And he was constantly reminded of that by drinking in God’s words. We have his Word at our fingertips; we need to drink it in daily too. Our relationship to Jesus will grow as we keep on relishing the truths left to nourish us. In his last words to his disciples before he would be taken away to be crucified, Jesus said:
“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete”. (Jn. 15:11 NET)
What had he just told his disciples? it was a discourse about how essential it was that they stay attached to the vine (to him), remaining In his love—drinking it in! If they obeyed his words, they could remain in his love (Jn 15:10). Then their joy would be complete, his love filling them!
The application for us is to not only enjoy current sporadic moments of delight when we focus on the good news that Jesus Messiah came to earth and opened the way for us to belong to him, to God, but also to pursue that union with him so that we can have ongoing joy. That is different. It is joy that can take us through hard times. It is joy that comes from practicing his Presence, knowing that he is with us as he promised. It is joy like a pregnant woman feels even while in the agonizing pains of childbirth—it is based on solid trust and hope (at last it is happening!). As Peter wrote to believers who had never walked with Jesus physically the way that he had:
You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, (1 Pet. 1:8 NET)
May it be so! May we rejoice at the good news that Messiah came, and experience joy that flows from him into us because we are dedicated to him—attached to him, walking with him!
[1] https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/devotions-christmas-advent-week-three-joy
Linnea's Lines 