Finding Joy in Our Discouragements

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely, that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

Most of us are quite familiar with the accounts of the birth of Jesus that we find in the Bible. And I think one of the dangers of that familiarity is that we can make the characters in the story into larger than life heroes, when in fact they were all very much common people like us. And like us, they all had times in their lives where they were discouraged. In fact, sometimes their discouragement was actually caused by or heightened because of their role in the Christmas story.

A couple weeks ago, we looked at the account of Simeon and Anna in the Temple. Both of them had plenty of reason to be discouraged. They had been waiting for the Messiah their entire lives, day after day after day, with no indication that He was about to appear on the scene. And in Anna’s case, she had lived as a widow for almost her entire life. I have to think that much of that time she had hoped to remarry again. But now, at 84 years of age, that didn’t seem likely. That had to be discouraging.

How about the shepherds? Their life certainly wasn’t glamorous. They were looked down upon by the rest of their culture. Every day they had to tend to stupid, smelly sheep, sometimes putting their lives on the line to protect sheep that didn’t even belong to them. That had to be discouraging, too.

This morning, we’ll look at the story of two women who also had plenty of reason to be discouraged. But the good news is that we’re going to see that in the midst of that discouragement, they learned to live lives that were full of joy.

Tension

I know that there are many of you joining us this morning who have plenty of reasons to be discouraged. Maybe, like me, you’ve been impacted by the death of a loved one this year. Maybe you or a family member or close friend has become ill with COVID. Perhaps your job or livelihood has been adversely impacted by the epidemic. I know some of you are discouraged because of recent election results. And I think to at least some degree, all of us are discouraged by the limitations on social interaction with others. Even though I’m thankful for the technology that allows us to gather digitally each week, I know I still get discouraged sometimes because we can’t all be together physically.

But at the same time, I’m really encouraged because I know, based on what I see in the Bible, that it is still possible for us to live lives that are full of joy even in the midst of that discouragement. And I’m excited to share with you this morning how we can all have that kind of joy.

Truth

Today we will look at the accounts of two women who couldn’t be more different. One is young, the other is old. One is married to a priest, the other comes from an common, poor family. One is unable to become pregnant, the other becomes pregnant when she doesn’t want to. But the one thing they share in common is that they both have reason to be discouraged. And, as we’ll see this morning, the other thing they share in common is that they are able to experience joy even in that discouragement.

Let’s begin with Elizabeth. She came from a priestly family and was married to a priest. She is described as “righteous before God” and as one who walked according to the law of God. But in spite of that righteous lifestyle she has been unable to have children and is now beyond her child bearing years. Today, it’s not unusual for a woman or a couple to choose not to have children, but in the Jewish culture of that day, barrenness was considered to be a curse and even a sign of God’s displeasure. It was a valid ground for divorce. That obviously weighed heavy on the heart of Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah. No doubt they were both discouraged.

The other woman that we’re going to focus on this morning is Mary. It’s easy for us to forget that she was likely only a teenager, not much older than some of you girls, when she finds out she is pregnant. Unfortunately in our culture today, is is no longer considered shameful to be pregnant before getting married. Unmarried couples and single women regularly get pregnant and not only is there no shame in that but they actually openly flaunt their pregnancies. But in the Jewish culture of that day, it would have been considered shameful for Mary to be pregnant before she and Joseph were married. All during her pregnancy people would have been talking behind her back and gossiped and given her unapproving stares.

While her situation was made easier by the visit of the angel Gabriel who explained that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God, that didn’t take away the constant daily shame that Mary faced. And that announcement likely brought with it a whole new set of questions that put a lot of pressure on Mary. Would Joseph leave her to raise the child on her own as a single mom? How could she possibly raise a child who would grow up to be the Messiah? What if she messed that up?

We’ll pick up the story in Luke chapter 1, verse 39:

Luke 1:39–45 ESV

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Here is the main idea we’re going to develop from that passage this morning:

Joy is not found in the absence of difficulty, but rather in the presence of Jesus.

We know from the previous verses that Mary and Elizabeth were relatives. The KJV indicates they were cousins, but the underlying Greek word simply means “relative”, so we don’t know the exact nature of that relationship.

I can’t help but think that Mary was eager to get out of Nazareth and the discouragement that would have come with the constant shame she faced. So she decides to go visit Elizabeth. We’re only told that Elizabeth lives in a town in the hill country of Judah, but we know it would have had to have been fairly close to Jerusalem so that her husband, Zechariah, who was a priest, could carry out his duties in the Temple. That would have been roughly an 80 mile trip each way for Mary.

When she arrives, she enters the house and greets Elizabeth. Immediately, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. And Elizabeth pronounces a blessing on Mary for believing what God had told her and being obedient to Him.

I want to note a couple things here right now before we finish our passage and then develop some practical applications:

We see here that from God’s perspective, life begins at conception. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb is described as a “baby”, not as merely a fetus or a clump of cells or any other description that would make that baby anything less than a new human life. The word Luke uses there is the very same word he uses in his gospel account to describe Jesus after He is born.

Once again we see the prominent role of the Holy Spirit in revealing that Jesus is the Savior and the Messiah. Earlier in this chapter, Zechariah was told that the child that Elizabeth would bear would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he was in the womb. And Elizabeth is also filled with the Holy Spirit as soon as Mary, and more importantly, Jesus, enter her home.

The blessing that Elizabeth pronounced on Mary had to have been so refreshing to her soul and spirit and she immediately breaks out in a beautiful song that begins in verse 46:

Luke 1:46–56 ESV

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Again, before we make application, let me point out some important aspects of Mary’s song:

Mary is blessed, but not in the sense that some religions understand that term today. She is not in any way equal with Jesus. She is not a “co-redemptrix”. She is blessed only in the sense that God has chosen to use her in carrying out His purposes and plans. That is a blessing that is available to all of us as well. Earlier this week, Ryan forwarded a tweet from Louie Giglio that makes the same point:

God is not looking for special people. He is looking for ordinary people who will trust Him to do something special through them.

Mary understands that she is a sinner who is in need of a Savior. She calls God her “Lord” and “God my Savior”. She never claimed to be perfect or without sin as others have claimed.

Her focus is completely on God here. She makes it clear that the reason future generations will call her blessed is because of the great things that God is doing for her and through her in order to fulfill the promises He had made to Abraham 18 centuries earlier.

I know that I still haven’t fully explained the main idea that we’re developing this morning:

Joy is not found in the absence of difficulty, but rather in the presence of Jesus.

So let me explain a little further how I arrived at that idea.

Let me start with Elizabeth. Although God had changed her circumstances and she was now pregnant, that came with its own set of potential pitfalls and discouragements. In her advanced years, how was she going to be able to raise a child? What if she messed up the life of that child who had been chosen by God for the important task of preparing the way for Jesus? Would her husband ever speak again? So the changes in circumstances alone didn’t give her joy or completely remove her disappointments.

But the very moment that Mary entered her home with the baby Jesus in her womb, Elizabeth and the baby inside her immediately experienced joy. And as a result, the focus was no longer on her discouragement, but rather on the presence of Jesus.

How about Mary? When she first arrived there in Elizabeth’s home town, nobody probably even knew she was pregnant. But over the three months she stayed there, her pregnancy would have become obvious and I have to believe that she experienced all the same gossip and stares and talking behind her back that she had faced back in her home town. So again, just changing her circumstances wasn’t sufficient when it come to overcoming her discouragement.

But was did make a difference? The presence of Jesus in her life. The more she understood about what Gabriel had told her and the more she thought about how that baby in her womb was not only going to change her life, but potentially change the lives of ever other person, she couldn’t help but break out in a song of great joy.

So in both cases, what brought joy was the presence of Jesus and not just the absence of problems. So how can we experience the presence of Jesus like that?

Application

HOW TO EXPERIENCE JOY THAT COMES FROM THE PRESENCE OF JESUS

Know Him through His Word

What happened to both Mary and Elizabeth had to be a tremendous surprise to both of them. There is no earthy way that a woman beyond her child bearing years can become pregnant or that a woman can conceive a child with the Holy Spirit. And yet, as we read this story, we sense that both women were not completely caught off guard here.

When the angel Gabriel came to bring the surprising news to Mary, she responded with these words:

Luke 1:37–38 ESV

For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

When Elizabeth’s baby was born and the neighbors and relatives wanted to name him Zechariah after his father, Elizabeth insisted that he be named John, just as the angel had told her husband.

In both cases, the women were able to be obedient to God even when it didn’t totally make sense because they were in awe of God and had heard from Him. And they also seemed to know God well enough to understand that He often works in ways that are beyond our understanding. And that mindset had undoubtedly been developed through hearing and studying the Scriptures.

Today, it’s pretty unlikely that God is going to send an angel to speak to us, although He could certainly do that if He chooses. But in a sense, he has given us something much better - His written Word that we can read and study over and over again. And He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us understand what we are reading and to get to know Jesus more intimately. And as we get to know Jesus better like that, we understand more and more that He is present with us in the midst of our discouragement, even when He chooses not to change our circumstances.

That means that when we read the Bible, we don’t want to read just for information or even just for application, as important as that is. We also want to approach the Bible with the mindset that we want to get to know Jesus better as we read His Word.

Spend time with others who love Jesus

How we view our circumstances is largely dependent on the kind of people we spend time with. If we spend time with those who are negative and pessimistic, we are likely to become like them. If we spend time with people who complain all the time, we will likely begin to complain more ourselves. If we spend time with people who have a particular passion, we are probably going to be more inclined to share that passion.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not surprising that Mary decided to get out of town for a while to get away from all the shame she faced there in Nazareth. But it’s fascinating to me that she chooses to go to a relative that lives so far away. Certainly she had other relatives who were far enough from Nazareth to avoid what she was facing there without traveling 80 miles each way to Elizabeth’s home.

But once she arrives there, you see why she chose Elizabeth. In her, she found a like minded soul who also loved God and desired to be obedient to Him. And obviously that was exactly the kind of company she needed because she spent 3 months there.

If we want to have joy in our lives, then one of the most important things we can do is to spend as much time as possible in the presence of people who really love Jesus. Many of you here remember Shirley Williams. As she dealt with cancer over the last few years of her life, because of her love for Jesus, she spread joy to everyone she came into contact with. I still remember how every time I spent time with her, I came away feeling like she was the one who had ministered to me rather than the other way around. And that gave me much joy.

Direct my thoughts to His presence, not my problems

When dealing with discouragement, I can focus on one of two things. I can focus on the problems that are causing that discouragement. or I can focus on the fact that Jesus is with me in the midst of those problems. While I can’t always change my circumstances, I do have the ability to choose where I put my focus in the midst of those circumstances.

Both Elizabeth and Mary chose to focus on the presence of Jesus, not their problems. In this account, we don’t see them ever complain about their circumstances, or even mention their discouragement. Instead, we see them just enjoying the presence of Jesus.

One of the best ways I know to do that is to read Bible passages that promise us that God will be present with us in our trials. Here is one of my “go to” passages:

Isaiah 43:1–3 ESV

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Isaiah 43:5 ESV

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

In your sermon outline, I’ve provided you with a list of some other passages that you can use for that purpose. I’d suggest that you put that list in your Bible or keep it handy so that you can refer to it whenever you are going through difficult times in your life.

Joy is not found in the absence of difficulty, but rather in the presence of Jesus.

Action

I want you to think for a moment about some problem that you are facing right now in your life or some discouragement that you’re experiencing. Then go ahead and write that down. I know some of you think you don’t need to do that and that you can’t just make a mental note of that, but for most of us writing it down means it is a lot more likely that we’ll actually follow through and make the practical applications that we’ve talked about today.

Then I want to ask you to prayerfully consider how you can apply one or more of the principles we’ve talked about today to that situation. And then write that down too. Maybe even share it with someone else who can hold you accountable to actually doing that.

Finally, I want to ask you to do one more thing. Once you’ve taken some concrete action, would you take a moment to share with me or with someone else how making that application brought joy to your life?

Inspiration

This week on Thursday, Time Magazine announced it’s 2020 Persons of the Year - Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But like me and many others, you probably thought that this would have been a more appropriate pick:

[Mayhem]

But in reality, not only this year, but every year for the last 2,000 years or so, the real person of the year is best represented by this picture:

[Manger and cross]

On that first Christmas, God came to dwell with us and be with us, not just for a season, or even for just the 33 years that Jesus lived here on earth. He came to die on a cross and arise from the grave so that not only could He be with us, but so that we can be with Him for eternity. And that is why, even in a year like 2020, our lives can be filled with joy.