Finding Joy in Our Suffering

In today’s passage we read of Elizabeth’s deep joy. The beginning of Jesus’ birth story in Luke’s Gospel does not begin with Jesus, Joseph, or even Mary- it begins with Elizabeth-Mary’s cousin.

As Mary and Elizabeth meet with John and Jesus in their wombs, their babies start jumping in their wombs- a God moment for sure.

Mary and Elizabeth both enter into this moment in very different circumstances, but both had to have some anxiety, some questions, some struggle in their hearts that day.

Elizabeth, barren for all those years, now pregnant with a child! What if something went wrong though? What if she was too old to be a mom? What if Zechariah never got his speech back?

Mary, pregnant with the Son of God? I’m not married, what will people say? Am I reallly worthy of this? Why me, God?

But yet, in the midst of the questions, the wondering, the anxiety- we find Mary’s song, a song of JOY.

But what about us? What about the joy in our lives? Does the joy of the Lord premiate in our lives? Dare I ask, does it even exist in us? Today, let’s examine some of the aspects of Christian joy in our lives.

Joy is a feeling

The Bible does not shy away from naming joy as a feeling- an emotion. We read of many instances in the Bible when followers of Jesus experience and express the feeling or emotion of joy.

The shepherd experienced joy when he found his lost sheep (Mt 18:13). The multitude felt it when Jesus healed a Jewish woman whom Satan had bound for 18 years (Lk 13:17). The disciples returned to Jerusalem rejoicing after Jesus’ ascension (Lk 24:52). Joy was also the feeling of the church at Antioch when its members heard the Jerusalem Council’s decision that they did not have to be circumcised and keep the Law (Acts 15:31). Paul mentioned his joy in hearing about the obedience of the Roman Christians (Rom 16:19). He wrote to the Corinthians that love does not rejoice in wrong but rejoices in the right.

Often times people confuse joy with happiness. Both of these emotions are positive, and share some of the same attributes, but they really are different in some important ways too. For example, happiness is an emotional response to a situation or a circumstance. We are happy when we receive a gift; or happiness to the news of a promotion; happiness when we see the beautiful weather or head off on vacation.

Joy, though is more than a response to a situation, joy is a way of being in the world- joy is a state of being in our spirits. Consider Galatians 5, the fruits of the Spirit, which include joy as a mark and indicator of the Spirit of God living within us.

In Galatians 5: 22 we read that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is joy. The Greek word means an inner gladness, a deep pleasure which comes from an inner assurance and confidence that God does all things for His good purposes.

Joy is an Action

But the Bible has some other thoughts on joy also, that joy is an action. We often see the idea of joy as a verb when we see the word REJOICE

Proverbs 5:18 tells the reader to rejoice in the wife of his youth, without reference to what she may be like. Christ instructed his disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted, reviled, and slandered (Mt 5:11, 12). The apostle Paul commanded continuous rejoicing (Phil 4:4; 1 Thes 5:16). James said Christians are to reckon it all joy when they fall into various testings because such testings produce endurance (Jas 1:2).

We practice the verb of joy when we raise our hands in praise to God; when we cry tears of joy at a wedding or a baby’s birth; when we grab a fellow believer in a hug when hearing answered prayer.

Perhaps we should think of it this way- the presence of joy because of Jesus’ work should cause us to rejoice- or live out a response.

Joy is often a choice

This should sound familiar, because it is identical to a sentence from last week about peace.

Sometimes the only thing standing between you and joy is you.

if you look a little more closely at the word, you’ll notice that it begins with the prefix re-. Think back to grammar class or just think of other English words that start with re-, and you’ll re-member that this prefix means once more, or again, or a return to. So to rejoice is to return to joy. It’s a choice and an action we can take to return to joy. I’d like to add that for us, it is a return to our source of joy; it’s a return to Jesus.

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

'That laundry is not very clean', she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap'

Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?'

The husband said, 'I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.'

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Some of us really need to clean our windows.

Remember, most of the time a poor attitude with no hope or joy does not do anything to change the circumstances around you. All it does it make you and those around you more miserable.

Sometimes your joy is stolen- sometimes it it forfeited. We have all heard someone say “don't let it steal your joy”

Some of us don't get our joy stolen- we forfeit it- don't even put up a fight. Something happens that causes you stress or suffering and you just give it up. I don’t know about you, but I am pretty protective over my most valuable possessions. We use locks, safes, chains, and deadbolts to keep them out of the hands of robbers and thieves. I’ve got some pretty important stuff in my life that if you want to take from me, I am going to put up a fight- that is how our joy should be. But some people have a reputation of just giving it up. Sure, the Devil is called a thief in the Bible, but he doesn’t need to practice thievery with you- something goes wrong and the Devil walks in and says “i want to take your joy” add you just say- ok, here you go! FIGHT FOR IT! CHOOSE IT CHURCH!

We can even have joy in suffering

Listen to Paul in Romans 5:3-5:

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

You see, we can rejoice because even when the suffering is real- we know that the suffering will produce good fruit.

Suffering is unavoidable for anyone, but especially for Christians. After all, the presence of sin in this world automatically brings with it the realities of pain, sickness, sadness, and death. Whether or not someone is a follower of Christ we will all experience the realities of these kinds of struggles.

However, those of us who follow Jesus will have unique struggles as well- because of who we follow. Alongside the struggles that come with being in the world- we also will have certain struggles just because we follow Jesus. When we choose to follow the practices of the Bible and refuse to give into our sin and flesh we will experience struggle and pain. This is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Faith that has never been put to the test is a theoretical faith. Paul tells us that a faith that has beeut to the test is not only a pure faith, but practical. It’s a faith that we can use.

Imagine you were driving down the road and came across a river crossing. Over top of the river was a bridge- one that practically looks brand new. You watch with amazement as cars approach the bridge; but they turn just before the entrance and ford the rapid waters, some leaving parts of their vehicles behind in the water, others getting stuck, and some just sitting on the bank wondering if they will ever get across. Perplexed- you ask one of the people sitting on the bank- Hey man, why don’t you just use the bridge?” “No, no. no. We cant use the bridge. That bridge was not built to use- it will never hold a car. That bridge was built to take pictures of and look pretty. We cant cross on that thing!”

Sadly, that is how some people approach their faith- it looks pretty, but they never put it to use.

But Paul says rejoice in your sufferings if you have a practical faith- a working faith- a useful faith because those struggles produce a mature faith, or as he calls it- character.

The word that Paul uses that we translate “character” carries the idea of “approved after testing” Where’s my Gift and Thrift shoppers? My Goodwill gatherers? My second hand gang? Yup- the sticker that says “Tested” is the golden key! Don’t buy it unless its been tested and it works!

For us, we can rejoice and have joy in suffering not because of the circumstance, but because we know that our faith, our God, our Jesus will prevail!

James had similar thoughts in James 1:2-4 “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The reality is that we are not asked to have joy because of our struggles, but joy IN THE MIDST OF our struggles.

But here’s the thing- as Christians we are called to seek Jesus- not joy. Part of the problem with the world today is that so many people are only chasing what makes them happy. Perhaps you find yourself in a struggle today, and if that is you I invite you to find Jesus in the midst of the struggle- then you will find joy.

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced, Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice

Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV)