Behold...Joy

Joy

I would like everyone to look at our tree today. It is looking all festive with all the candles lit. Something to notice here as we see hope, peace, love and today joy. It starts off at the tip and goes out like a beautiful Christmas tree. It grows in need of this world and it also shows what is in less supply.

We try to express Joy in song…like Joy to the World or we got that joy joy joy down in my heart.

We try to express Joy in poetry…like the one from Juliet Fay titled Joy

Joy seeps into my bones flooding the marrow tickling the cells until a slow wide smile spreads across my face

We try to express joy with brilliant quotes from brilliant men

Joy is not an accident of temperament or an unpredictable providence; joy is a matter of choice.

J. I. Packer

All of these, well except the one I sang, are great expressions of joy, but true joy only comes when we are in the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 16:7–11 CSB

I will bless the Lord who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.

Notice what the psalmist said, it is the Lord who counseled him, it is the Lord who guided him and because of this he is not shaken, his heart is glad, his body can rest, he is not abandoned, his path is revealed before him, and he has abundant joy so much so that his whole being is rejoicing. It is when we get out of the way and let God have control in our lives we have joy.

I love Oswald Chambers and find he had a lot of wisdom on different subjects and made them easy to understand. He said this about joy.

5531 I thought God’s purpose was to make me full of happiness and joy. It is, but it is happiness and joy from God’s standpoint, not from mine.

Oswald Chambers

From God’s standpoint, not from mine. So now we go from the Old Testament to the birth of Christ

Luke 2:10 CSB

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

A baby to bring great joy to all the people. A baby to push back against the things that take away our joy.

Talk about the barn

It is our connection with Christ that drives the joy in our lives but what did Jesus said about Joy

In the final hours before his arrest, Jesus did his best to prepare his disciples for what was to come.  Jesus spoke of his death, eluded to his resurrection, said he would again go away, and promised the gift of the Holy Spirit.  These powerful passages include reminders for loving one another and remaining obedient to God.  They are full of confusion and grief, but also hope and even joy.  John records a whole conversation about joy in chapter 16 of his gospel.

John 16:19–24 CSB

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you. “In that day you will not ask me anything. Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

There is a line that really stands out, "and no one will take away your joy."  What can Jesus mean?  In our confusion and grief, we cling to this kind of joy, so here are a few ways to help us recognize joy as something no one can take away.

We must see Joy and Happiness as Different

Because our twenty-first century American understanding of joy is often comparable to happiness, it may be helpful to look at the word joy in the Greek, from which our English Bible was translated.  In this case, the word 'chara' can be defined as joy and delight, gladness or cheerfulness, and calm delight.  While this sounds similar to how we might define happiness, it is important to note that happy is infrequently used in the Bible, and only once used by Jesus (John 13:17, also translated as blessed).  On the other hand, joy (joyful, joyous, etc.) is found hundreds of times throughout scripture and Jesus uses the term joy in several different conversations.  Biblically, joy is altogether different from happiness.  In particular, the notion of calm delight connotes steadiness and maturity not often related to the short-lived, squealing delight more commonly associated with a happy event.  This calm delight, that is not dependent on circumstance, cannot be taken away. In his book, Surprised by Joy, Lewis explains that, "Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing."  He was saying, in part, that the anticipation of joy, the hope for it, is in fact joy as well.  At first this may seem odd, but if you recall Christmas as a child, looking forward to opening the gifts was almost as good as (and even sometimes better than) sitting with your unwrapped treasure.  In the longing lies hope and promise—a light at the end of the tunnel—that makes present circumstances bearable.  We ache for something different because we believe it is possible.  That is evidence of faith in what we long for, what we anticipate, that object of our joy.  In this case, faith in Jesus, which no one can take away. Finally, a deeper look into this particular conversation can give insight into Jesus' meaning.  Jesus is speaking about his death and resurrection, a time of grief followed by a time of joy, but he goes on to describe a change in relationship with the Father God as well.  Jesus invites the disciples into a new, open dialogue directly with God and says, in that way, "your joy will be complete."  Restored relationship with God is the completion, the finishing touch, the fortification of our joy that makes it impenetrable.  No one can take away what comes from God himself! So I find myself wondering, when I have lost touch with joy in my life, have I really lost touch with God?  Have I stopped anticipating that He is active in my life?  Have I let my circumstances cloud my judgement?  Most importantly, have I neglected to ask him about what I need?  Maybe I have been firing off a list of demands without taking time for a real conversation with God.  Maybe I'm angry or ashamed and so I've avoided talking to God.  Or perhaps I have become so weary that I am afraid God won't listen.  Regardless of how we feel or how long it has been, the invitation is clear and open, "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."