Where Does Your Joy Come From?
Where does your joy come from? What hinders you from being truly joyful? I think about this a lot at this time of year. I think it is because we are so often reminded of the very good reason we should be joyful.
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10-11)
From readings of the opening chapters of the Gospels in church to the Charlie Brown Christmas special, we hear these glorious words from Luke’s Gospel recited often during the Advent and Christmas season. We sing these words in songs and hymns and even hear them over the audio systems of big box stores as we shop.
But I must ask myself: Has the deep impact intended by these words therefore dulled a little bit for me? Do I find myself lacking the joy I think I should have because these words have become too familiar? Or is it some other reason?
Here's something I’ve been considering lately: I see and believe the reason, but experience too infrequently the result. What do I mean? The two sentences in the quotation above from Luke’s Gospel contain first an intended result and then a good reason for that result.
The result is: don’t be afraid! Look, an angel from heaven has brought good news of great joy, for everyone. Turning from fear and exchanging it for great joy is then founded on the next sentence, the reason: Jesus Christ, the Lord, our savior was born.
What strikes me when I take a moment to think about this is that I truly believe the reason. I believe with all my heart that Jesus is the Messiah and was born into the world as my Savior to deliver me from my enemies of sin, death, and Satan. But from day to day as I make my way through the challenges and doldrums of living life in this world, I am not as full of “great joy” as it seems should be the result from knowing such good news.
Could it be that I have misunderstood how joy works? Maybe I’m letting the Good News of the birth, life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus (the reason for joy) get hijacked by my circumstances, especially the trials of life. James, the biological half-brother of Jesus, addressed this when he wrote in his letter:
“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.” (James 1:2-4)
Ok, that’s what I’m looking for: steadfastness that has its full effect in my life. The goal is that my emotional state doesn’t fluctuate up and down with my circumstances. Rather, that I could have a new and lasting default setting of joy based in the Good News of Jesus no matter what.
This was pounded home for me when I was in Egypt recently. I met a team of believers from around the world who were leading the family ministries of a conference I had been invited to speak at. The team included two sisters I will call “Layla” and “Lila.” These two sisters were from Lebanon and were working alongside the visiting team with the conference's children and youth. I was immediately amazed by their unwavering love of Jesus and immense joy.
My amazement was taken to the next level when these sisters shared their story with me over supper one evening. I heard how they served refugees in the Bekka Valley region of Lebanon. I heard how they share the Good News of Jesus with some of the lowest of the low in Lebanese society who are rarely shown compassion and never read the Bible before.
Then they told me how they had endured enormous personal trials due to life-threatening and physically disabling health issues. One sister had to have her leg amputated and lost all her teeth and hair as her body’s systems were failing. After months and months of hospitalizations and physical therapy in several countries she began to heal and was finally able to function from day to day with a prosthetic leg and dentures. On top of this, she was ridiculed for some of her decisions along the way, and sadly, received little sympathy or help from people and leaders in their church.
Later, both sisters were in a near-fatal car accident along with their parents when their family car went off the road and through a guardrail meant to protect vehicles from plunging into a steep valley. Their car rolled down the side of a small mountain and landed suspended in a tree. One of the sisters and their mother crawled on their hands and knees up the side of the mountain back to the road for help. They all sustained broken bones and life-threatening injuries. And, by God’s grace, they all survived and went on to face months of healing.
As they were sharing this story with me, I considered the present state of Lebanon. Over the last five years, these sisters along with their family, friends, and neighbors have suffered a plummeting economy, extreme COVID restrictions that led to skyrocketing unemployment and famine, a devastating Hiroshima-like blast in the capital, periodic riots, and most recently, months of constant bombing because of Hezbollah's conflict with Israel.
And yet, these two sisters were full of joy and hope that overflowed through costly selfless ministry to refugees in their country. Their hope and joy do not depend on their circumstances! Their joy is not in the wholeness of their bodies. Their hope is not in the political solutions of their country's leaders. Their great joy is in the love of God who sent Jesus, born in Bethlehem, to deliver us from our enemies of sin, death, and Satan. Their hope is in God's promise that Jesus will indeed come again.
Meeting these sisters has caused me to reflect on Luke 2:10-11 and James 1:2-4 with new eyes. The trials these dear sisters have endured has built in them an unwavering steadfastness. And because of this they are able to count it all joy. They are more like Jesus because of the trials they have faced. Their joy is so immediately visible because their faith runs deep and stands powerfully firm, tested by trial and suffering. That is a cause for Joy.
What is my source of joy? Have my trials caused my faith to be tested leading to a greater steadfastness in life? When trials come do I count it all joy? Or do I let my trials eschew my vision of the Good News of Jesus’ first coming and the promise of his second?
As we sing "Joy to the world!" during the weeks of celebrating the birth of Jesus, let’s examine our hearts and ask: is our joy truly founded in God's fulfillment to send his Savior into the world? Is our hope completely in His promise to return? Do we count our trials as joy because they can help us see Christ more clearly, more steadfastly with the eyes of faith?
