Some of my earliest childhood memories include attending Sunday School and singing these words: “If you want joy – real joy – wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart. Your sins he’ll take away. Your night he’ll turn today. Your heart he’ll make over anew, and then come in to stay. If you want joy – real joy – wonderful joy – let Jesus come into your heart.” Other songs we sang included: “Joy is the flag flying high on the castle of my heart.” And “Oh I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.” Perhaps you think these are cute songs for children, but you question their relevance for adults living in a world often influenced by suffering and struggle.
Joy is a precious gift, and one many people seem to lack. Surely it can’t be as simple as just inviting Jesus into your heart and suddenly being on top of the world. We want children to be happy and not weighed down by cares and worries. They will have to face enough of these when they grow up and start getting a dose of reality, so let’s teach them happy little songs and let them enjoy joy while they can.
I can understand why this and other sinical views are expressed by many, yet as someone who has known Jesus since my earliest childhood, I can honestly say that the joy I experienced then has stayed with me, despite the stresses and strains of life. It was with me the night I lost my father, and it continues to be with me and my husband now as we deal with the sad loss of his mother. Experiencing the joy of the lord doesn’t mean we don’t feel sadness over our losses, but the joy comes from knowing Jesus made things as good as they could be under the circumstances.
The night my father died, my mother, my brother and I sat around his hospital bed teasing him. He had a twinkle in his eye as he repeated the question: “What’s the time?” roughly every five minutes, and we kept coming up with comical one-line answers. There was laughter and love. His twin brother had also visited him just hours before, and although Dad was alone when he passed into eternity, he died knowing how much his family loved him. He’d also given his heart to Jesus just 2 months before, so he wasn’t afraid, and we have the joyful hope of being reunited with him in heaven.
Jonathan’s mother spent her last year in a nursing home because of the onset of Alzheimer’s, yet she sang her Saviour’s praises whenever a hymn she knew came on the radio. When the end came, her husband and son were able to hold her hand even though they hadn’t been able to visit her for months due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Lord took her quietly and tenderly, and once again, we have the joy of knowing her suffering has ended.
Neither Jonathan nor I would have chosen to lose a parent at such a young age. My dad was 69, and his mother had recently turned 70. However, we have wonderful memories, a legacy of faith, and “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Nehemiah 8: 10.”
I believe there is a huge difference between the way in which a Christian and a non-believer would define the word “Joy”. The joy of the non-Christian is based on emotions and circumstances. They mistakenly equate joy with happiness. If life is turning out as they believe it should, they are happy, and would therefore call themselves joyful. However, as soon as a dark blot appears on the horizon, they quickly lose their joy. Their emotions go up and down like the changes in the weather, so joy never lasts. Furthermore, when things do go wrong, they are sometimes prone to point the finger at God. Either that or they ignore him altogether.
Christians still experience emotions. We have days when we are happy, and days when we feel low. Followers of Jesus are not exempt from suffering bouts of depression or experiencing fluctuating emotions. Yet we know that joy is something deeper – a constancy and even an obligation. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul urges his readers to rejoice in the Lord always. He is so emphatic about this that he repeats the order twice. (Philippians 4: 4.) Furthermore, he also wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians: “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1Thessalonians 5: 16-18). Christians rejoice despite their circumstances, not because of them. We don’t pretend things are fine when they are not, but we rejoice in the constancy and care of our Saviour. WE know that nothing takes him by surprise. If he is allowing suffering in our lives, he will give us the strength to come out the other side still praising him. We can praise him for his faithfulness before, during, and after a storm, even if the outcome isn’t what we would have desired.
Amidst the constant changes we experience in our lives, we can rejoice that we serve the one who never alters. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13: 8.) He is our anchor in stormy seas, and the rock to which we can cling. He paid the ultimate price for our salvation and has sealed us with his blood. Nothing can separate us from his love. (Romans 8: 31-39.)
One of my favourite scriptures about joy can be found in Habakkuk chapter 3 verses 17-19. “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms. and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” The catastrophes listed here are not ordinarily conducive to joy. Yet the prophet rejoices in the fact that the Lord will give him the strength to face them. Even though he is traveling along rugged terrain, the Lord will make him as surefooted as a gracefully bounding deer. He can keep going because he is trusting the Lord with the outcome.
As we commence the Christmas season, which for most has always been known as the season of joy, we find ourselves in a world where joy is in short supply. Yet the message of God stooping down to our level and being born as a man seems more wonderful than ever. He came to bring life and light where we now see only death and darkness. He gives hope to the hopeless. His very presence in our lives should be our greatest source of joy.
Christmas may look different this year. Perhaps money is in short supply. Maybe social distancing and restrictions will mean there are less people gathered at our tables. Perhaps, like us, you have recently said a painful farewell to a loved one. Yet the promise remains that you can draw strength from knowing and experiencing the joy of the Lord in the midst of it all.
Finally, if you want to be a carrier of the joy only Jesus can bring, then might I suggest the advice a pastor friend gave Jonathan and I when we were planning our wedding. Using the word “Joy” as an acronym, he suggested: “Put Jesus first, others next, and yourselves last.” That’s how our Lord lived here on earth, and in this as in all things he is our example. There is a true joy in serving others even when we don’t feel like it – in putting ourselves out to meet someone else’s needs despite the ongoing reality of our own.
So, sing with me to the tune of Jingle Bells:
“J O Y, J O Y, surely it must mean, Jesus first, yourself last, and others in between!”