This "Joy" You Speak Of . . .

I was the substitute teacher in my Sunday School class yesterday, the Joy Sunday of Advent. So we talked about joy. Which is literally (and perhaps ironically) my middle name.

Ironically because I’ve struggled a lot with depression and discontentment over the years. I would read scripture like Galatians 5 and think, what is this “joy” you speak of? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I certainly had happy times. Lots of them, for sure.

But there’s a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is more dependent on external factors and is therefore more fleeting and temporary. Joy is an internal state, the condition of one’s life. And Jesus told us he intended for us to have his joy, to have complete joy.

And . . . nope. Couldn’t say I could relate to that one.

So, yeah. Joy. What made me think it was a good idea for me to teach about this in Sunday School?

Mainly because I was recently reminded of an analogy I heard years ago: the image of a pilot taxiing an airplane down the highway trying to get to Grandma’s house two states away in time for Christmas dinner. It’s ridiculous, right? You’re in a plane, buddy. Don’t drive. FLY! All the potential power you have in your hands here to soar over all those obstacles to arrive at your destination . . . and you’re intentionally subjecting yourself to the ridiculous traffic on I-35?

That’s us, brothers and sisters.

If you’re a child of God and the Spirit lives within you, the joy is there. It is waiting to be accessed and used and enjoyed. But our God is a gentleman; he has no intention of forcing anything on you. We have to make the choice to access it – to plug in – to open the beautiful present sitting there with the bright golden bow on top.

For many of us, joyless living has become the habit. We’ve driven this path for so long, we’ve created deep ruts that are hard to get out of -- so hard that sometimes it just doesn't seem worth the effort. It's probably not that much greener on the other side of the fence anyway, we reason. Nah. Thanks anyway. I'm doing fine right here.

But it IS worth the effort, friends. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that "the joy of the Lord is your strength." That word for "strength" actually means "stronghold" -- a fortress, a safe spot, a place of protection from danger. Cultivating joy in our life keeps us safe from the enemy.

Dear ones, don't you see? Our Father wants so much more for us than we want for ourselves! Our Lord has this awesome gift for us. HIS joy. Complete joy. Why do we sit with the box on our laps and never open it? One of my absolute favorite C.S. Lewis quotes addresses this perfectly and eloquently:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Infinite joy! HIS joy! Grab hold of it, people -- the Lord has come! Joy to the world!