Advent Week 3
Joy can transcend every circumstance, but it requires a daily choice.
By Roy Harryman
We tend to view life as an either/or scenario. That is, we can be happy or sad. But we can’t be both.
Or, we may feel there is a particular condition that, once removed, will result in happiness. It may be a job we hate, a rocky relationship, health challenges or even politics.
Advent means “waiting” in the sense of looking forward to the celebration of Jesus’ entry into the world. It also signifies our waiting for the return of Jesus and the culmination of history. But, contrary to the idea of either/or, we don’t have to wait for joy. It can be ours right now.
This is because, in biblical language, joy is the happy state that results from knowing and serving God (Holman Bible Dictionary). Joy comes not from looking down at what’s happening around us, but from looking up.
First, let’s define terms. Joy and happiness are not synonymous. Happiness is defined by happenings. That is, “I like what is going on with me at this moment. The food is good, the company is good and the stock market is doing well.” However, subtract one of those elements and happiness is usually subtracted along with it.
The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The ancient Greek word for pleasure is related to the English word “hedonism.”
Thomas Merton, an author and monk, addressed this:
“Life is not merely a matter of physical vigor, or of health, or of the capacity to enjoy oneself. … A man can have all this and still be an idiot. One who merely breathes, eats, sleeps and works, without awareness, without purpose and without ideas of his own is not really a man. Life, in this purely physical sense, is merely the absence of death. Such people do not live, they vegetate.”
A life of joy then, in one sense, is a life of purpose. It’s a life lived for God.
Now, God has nothing against happiness or pleasure. He created us to experience the full range of emotions. Joy, however, is a much more powerful ally. It’s not dependent on what happens to us. Instead, we can experience it no matter what’s going on. Like Jesus, joy is transcendent. It can slice through any barrier life throws our way.
“Like Jesus, joy is transcendent. It can slice through any barrier life throws our way.”
That’s why the epistle of James tells us to “rejoice” when we face difficulties. How is this possible?
The “math” of joy
Although there is no simple formula, joy requires a reckoning. That is, we have to stop and do some calculations. James 1:2-4 exhorts us to “count” difficulties as joy. This is an accounting term instructing us to place life’s challenges in the positive column. It seems difficulties should go in the loss ledger, but in fact they’re a gain. How can this be possible?
I don’t have all the answers, but the Bible gives us clues. For one, difficulties help us remember God. Otherwise, we’d be completely autonomous and independent. Who needs God if life is just fine? Second, challenges have the potential to make us better people. God, in His grandeur, can use annoying, irritating and even tragic events to make us change us and transform our world.
Joy is related to hope in that it’s anchored in a belief that God is good and in control. We can have joy when we believe he has our best interests in mind. How does this work in practice?
Suppose my car breaks down. It’s a major inconvenience. In addition, I’m not sure how I’ll pay for the repairs. The anxiety and anger begin to well up in my soul. This leaves me at a point of decision: I can surrender to the angst, or I can tell God I’m in big trouble and need his help. Although I don’t “feel” it, I can also choose to remember that God loves me and is with me in this trial. Not only that, he has promised to meet my basic needs. I can also pray for the wisdom to make right decisions.
So there I am at the auto shop. My car’s in the ER and I’m not sure what’s wrong with it. Or how big the bill will be. But in faith I can choose to “count” the things I do know are real and true. And that gives me joy.
“We are inclined to think that when we are sad, we cannot be glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together,” wrote Catholic author Henri Nouwen. “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
“We are inclined to think that when we are sad, we cannot be glad. But in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together. Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
It would be wrong to conclude joy is merely a cognitive exercise. When John the Baptist, “met” his cousin Jesus, the reaction was physical: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41-44). Now that’s some reaction!
Yet however, we experience it, God is the source of joy. We must know, trust and experience him in order for his joy to become ours. And he desperately wants that to happen. “I’ve told you these things for a purpose,” Jesus said in John 15:11, “that my joy might be your joy.”
The key to joy is in giving God the keys to our heart.
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room.”
Prayer
God, thank you that you have created me for a life of joy and that you want me to experience the delight of Jesus himself. Help me not to rest my happiness in counterfeits and substitutes or to be paralyzed by a one-dimensional, earthbound view of reality. Help me to cherish your unshakeable truths, the goodness of your character and the unchanging nature of your love. Lead me to see joy and light even in the midst of sorrow and darkness. Please let this joy be contagious. Amen.
Roy Harryman is a regular guy who is thankful for God’s work in his life and is looking forward to its continuation and fulfillment.