Joy is Not a Thing

When I was a kid, I had a lot of stuff. One might look in my closet and think, this kid has a lot of junk. And I did. As a teenager I had toys in my closet that were more for toddlers than a high school student.

I had a rational for keeping it all though. Maybe one day my kids would play with them, or I would want t keep it around because I remembered playing with it when I was younger and wanted to keep it around for the memory even though it wasn’t getting used anymore.

I thought all that stuff brought me joy. That my joy was in my stuff. But the truth of it was I was keeping around this stuff, not because it was getting use, or because it brought me joy, but because I thought it did.

Eventually, through necessity, I had to get rid of most of the junk. And it hurt, to be honest. That is until my Dad passed away.

Super long story short, it became my job to go clean out his stuff. And unknown to me, he kept a lot of JUNK. I know where I get it from at least. My dad had old broken trophies. Remote controls that didn’t work. Old Holiday Coke cans that burst open and created black mold. After cleaning out my dad’s junk I got much better and getting rid of stuff.

Basically I had to learn through years of experience that JOY, what I was looking for in stuff, was not a thing.

We lit the Joy candle this week. We started with the Hope candle and learned it is very aptly placed as the Hope is something we do need in abundance right now, but when Jesus returns it will be something we no longer need.

The second week we lit the Peace candle and we talked about how we ave not been at Peace, at least true peace since Genesis 3. But with the return of Jesus at his second coming, those who follow him will know true peace for eternity.

Today we come to the Joy candle and you’ll notice it is a little different. It’s pink. If you’ve ever wondered why there are three purple candles and one pink. Well, I’m not going to keep the secret, I’ll tell you.

The time prior to the pink candle is meant to focus on repentance and reflection. When you come to the pink candle, it is meant as a shift to the joyous time of year that is approaching. It is the half way point from the beginning of advent to Christmas Eve.

So the big question today is, if Joy isn’t a thing, then what is it?

Our passage today speaks about joy and what it will do in our lives.

James 1:2–4 ESV

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The passage begins by giving the encouragement to have joy when you have trials. Like this; have joy when things happen that you don’t expect. Have joy when your faith is tested and you don’t understand why life is throwing you a curve ball.

It’s not just the Christmas season when things don’t go exactly like we think. But sometimes it feels extra stressful.

A family member gets a little extra on your nerves. A co-worker presses your buttons one too many times. Your pastor seems to be talking directly to you during a sermon and you don’t know why. A little confession. If it seems like I’m picking on you directly, about 50% of the time I don’t know it. It’s all him, so if you feel like I’m picking on you, you might want to enter into a conversation with God about it.

But, James here is encouraging you to have joy in bad times. And what happens? What is the result of having joy in the bad times? It will produce steadfastness and perfection.

Now we all know that this side of eternity we can’t be perfect. But when we endure the hardships life throws at us, when our faith grows and our joys abounds, Jesus is more able to do good through us.

Later on in James he says this

James 2:17 ESV

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Some people interpret this verse to mean salvation without works is dead, but it says faith we are saved by our faith.

So when in our hardships we choose JOY, our faith grows and the good we do increases. They are by products.

Faith grows you do good. You don’t do good, you must not have faith. And if you have no faith, then you have no JOY.

Joy you see is:

Joy: closely related to happiness and gladness, although joy is a state of being instead of an emotion; a result of choice

We choose joy. It’s not an emotion we get from stuff. It’s not a feeling we get when something good happens. It is a state of being we choose no matter our circumstances.

Just like our passage today, count it ALL JOY not matter what happens in life.

I had a hard time getting rid of stuff as a kid, because that is what I chose to put my joy in. And when I lost it, I chose the opposite of Joy and I’ll tell you what that is in a moment.

But after years of following Jesus I found that my Joy was better placed in him instead of stuff. That doesn’t mean I don’t have stuff or don’t like stuff. But my JOY is not in stuff.

Those who have been to my house know I enjoy Star Trek. You have seen my model ships, my book collection, my collectibles (not toys, collectibles) .... That you play with.

I like them, they remind me of times with my dad and friends growing up and they are currently helping me create memories with my kids.

They could all go tomorrow. Because my Joy is not in them. Sure there’s history with them, sure I like them. But, when I find that something is giving me more JOY than Jesus, it’s gotta go.

If I found myself staring at those star ships for hours on end, and cleaning them frantically or getting mad when others even looked at them. That’s when it’s time for them to go.

Because Joy is not something I should be giving to stuff.

After Jesus was born some men from the East came to worship Jesus. They brought with them gifts. Three gifts, three very special and significant gifts.

Gold - basically cash, funds to help the new family

Frankincense - a very odorous resin from Arabia. When burned it created an odor that people associated with the Divine. Very valuable stuff.

Myrrh - and oil that has many uses, it can even be hardened and used as incense. It was something burned often in worship. Also, very expensive and useful stuff.

These three items were mentioned in Matthew 2, but you never see them mentioned again. Jesus wasn’t carrying around the three gifts. They had significance in his early life, but very likely what happened to those gifts. The gold probably bought them a home in Egypt when they had to flee Herod. The frankincense and myrrh may have been used, but more likely sold for a high price so that Mary, Joseph and Jesus could live while on the run.

Those gifts, that stuff, was just stuff, perhaps in other hands it brought Joy to them, but when it had out used its usefulness to Jesus’ family, they got rid of it. Because there is not Joy in stuff.

Remember, our passage today also tells us to be joyful even in trials. That’s a hard choice to make, because when we go through tough times. We often choose the opposite of Joy. And I’m going to name it and I name it fully realizing I’m about to step out on some worldly thin ice.

But my joy is in the Lord, so I’m going to take that step.

Often instead of choosing joy. We choose anxiety. There it is out on the thin ice.

I say that because people who suffer from anxiety would never say they chose it. Well, hear me out.

I said earlier that Joy is not a thing. Joy is what we choose to be in our circumstances. And yes, Joy is easy to choose when things are going well, but it is a hard thing to choose when things are going hard.

Anxiety, the opposite of joy, is also not a thing. IT’s a response to a thing, but it is not a thing. There is no one who just has anxiety attacks for absolutely no reasons whatsoever. Similarly, we don’t have joy attacks for no reason whatsoever.

Anxiety is an easy choice when things aren’t going well. But it does something else for us. Anxiety tells us something is wrong.

So What do we do when we have anxiety? We tell God about it. We take our worry and replace it with worship

Replace worry with worship.

We believe that Joy is a better choice than anxiety.

Replace fear with faith.

It is not easy for those who have been battling anxiety. I get that. It’s not a switch that you can go. I’m going to stop choosing anxiety today and choose joy. Sure you can do that, but it does take work and not just on your part. The Holy Spirit is crucial to your Joy. You might need a counselor. Or if anxiety has been something you’ve been battling a long time, you might need medication to help you though it for a time.

But we must remember, that anxiety is the opposite of Joy and we can choose joy.

So we got three wordplays to remember.

Worship over Worry Faith over Fear Joy over Junk

It could also be Joy over anxiety, but the wordplays are easier to remember.

We are a little more than a week away from Christmas day. And I’m glad people don’t often ask me what I want for Christmas, because the list is really small. In fact, the items on the list are also small. But one of the things I would really like for Christmas is there’s a few things I want to get rid of. That would bring me joy this season, to get rid of something I don’t use anymore and give it to someone who will. That will bring me joy.

Also, in closing, things don’t always go the way we want them to. In fact, a Christian in this fallen world, it’s more often than not that things won’t go your way.

The tough love Dad might say, grow up and get over it.

The not tough love day might say, it’s okay, just feel what you want and it will all work out.

Our heavenly Father has the best words, spoken through his servant Paul

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When you choose joy, God’s peace covers you with a shield. That nasty world can’t get in. That anxiety won’t be a choice.

So, If I’ve pressed your buttons today. Good. I hope i made you think. I like to be the tough love Dad from time to time. But I’ll gladly point you to the Heavenly Dad who will also be tough, but will also protect.

If you have a hard time choosing joy over anxiety, I’m sorry, and I hope you continue working on the thing that causes that anxiety. And I hope you get to a point where you choose joy more and more.

Until then

Let’s Pray