This will be a long post. It needs to be. This world is chaotic and our country is in turmoil. People are desperate and miserable. Life cannot just go forward as if all of this is not happening around us. That’s why you didn’t see a post from me last week. We are at a pivotal point where if we are to make progress as a nation, a community, a church, we must first make progress in our hearts and minds. 

James 1:2-3 reads “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” These verses probably sound silly and ridiculous, especially at this point in history. It sounds overly optimistic and extremely unrealistic. Those reactions are appropriate, given how we have come to define joy. 

My consistent prayer over the past four months has been that believers begin to see the promises of God as they are, not as the world, even the church, has made them. I have wept over the state of Christianity in this country, and I have raged at the misunderstandings that American Christians have about what God’s love is and how it ought to manifest through His children. I have wrestled with, at times rejected, and consequently accepted that because people don’t possess the peace, joy, and love that only God can give, it is impossible for them to offer peace, joy, and love to others. So, today, I want to attempt to break down what God’s joy really means to and for us. I want to talk about how to have joy during hardship and tragedy. 

Many of us have been taught Bible verses, even the Bible as a whole, through the lens of our own language, context, and culture. We apply Scripture where we believe it fits in order to elicit a favorable response either for ourselves or for others. I am guilty of this many times over. It’s a human reaction to want to make things better; and even moreso is it a Christian’s reaction to want to rid others of their pain or trials. 

I want to first look at the word joy as we see it in the New Testament. Jesus said that we find joy - full joy - only through Him (John 15:11). The word joy in Greek is chara (Pronunciation khä-rä'). It means the joy/happiness either received from you or the cause or occasion of joy. Strong’s defines it as “cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight”. Chara comes from a family of Greek words that we see used in the New Testament frequently: charis, charisma, chara, and eucharisteo. Charis means grace; charisma means gifts; eucharisteo means gratitude. Looking at this group of words together allows us to see that chara, or joy, both relates to gifts given through grace that elicit gratitude. And so we see that joy, as we read it in the Bible, is not something we obtain through circumstances or possessions, but something that is given to us freely, through no works of our own.

This is such a necessary distinction to make. The type of joy God gives is not earned or provoked by the things of this world. On the contrary, the joy the world offers - the joy we often default to, is defined as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” (Merriam-Webster) Let’s take it a step further. Because we know that He does not give as the world gives, we can also be certain that the joy God gives is eternal, rather than the temporary and unpredictable joy that the world gives. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that these two types of joy can be related. Sure, the joy of the Lord can certainly generate the joy we feel from successes and material objects. 

So, now that we have established the different types of joy, let’s talk about how God’s joy operates and is revealed. The joy of the Lord is given to us through the Holy Spirit (who is given to us when we confess and believe that Jesus is our Savior), as we see in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 and Galatians 5:22. When we trust in God’s sovereignty and control over all situations and circumstances, we find joy. When we are content that God is working all things together for our good, we possess joy. When we understand that His plans are better than our plans, even when they hurt, even when it looks chaotic, then we have the kind of joy that only God can give. When we live in the knowledge of truth and the promise of eternal life, we live, through all the ups and downs, in joy. 

In the Bible, we see Paul refer to the joy of the Lord in most of his letters. Ironically, the vast majority of times Paul writes about joy is when writing about suffering, affliction, or hardship. This tells us not only that the joy of the Lord remains through adversity, but we can assume that it also becomes more discernible during trials. If you have a chronic illness and are still able to rejoice in the midst of physical torment you understand this deeply. Paul spoke of joy from prison, under clouds of death threats, fleeing from harm, and enduring personal afflictions. How did he maintain it? Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians, which he wrote from prison: 

“Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” 

Philippians 1:18-23 (emphasis mine)

I believe that, here, Paul expresses confidence and hope in four tenets of his faith: prayer works, the Holy Spirit moves in miraculous ways, God is glorified in our trials, and the gift of eternal life is a promise that is far better than anything on Earth. Notice that none of these four elements involve himself or his circumstances. Notice also that they can be applied to or used in any situation and still remain true. 

Paul’s focus was upward, because He understood that Jesus had already overcome the worst thing that could happen on Earth - death. We see that he believed he would be delivered from his imprisonment, and he held fast to that. But, he also knew that God was in control of every situation, and whichever way He decided to take, Christ would be honored in it. Above all, Paul was certain that one day, he would receive a reward that outweighs all of the rewards that the world could offer. 

To note, Paul didn’t ignore the problems, he didn’t negate the emotions and difficulties that go with life, and he certainly didn’t scoff at the plight of others. He simply understood that there was more and better beyond the circumstances - he had hope in God. He offers this perspective in 2 Corinthians 6:10 to the experiences of God’s servants: “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” 

Paul is not our only example of joy in the midst of suffering and trials in the Bible. David speaks about joy in many of his Psalms, and Acts tells us that the disciples had joy, despite their tumultuous and deadly mission. We find joy all throughout the Bible, and the common denominator is that God was the creator and source. In order for us to possess the type of joy that is unshakeable and immovable, we have to actually ask Him to supply us with it. Then, of course, we are responsible to maintain it - through prayer, reading the Word, repentance, and even (cautiously) engaging in Godly conversations and encouragement. 

At the end of the day, receiving and retaining the joy of the Lord is in our own hands. He’s already given us access to it. So, we can choose to believe that He is sovereign over even the most disastrous situations. We can decide whether we will focus on our circumstances or on Him. We determine if our hope and faith will be placed in things or in God. 

I choose to grab a hold of joy because it was bought at a very high price, yet freely offered; it seems, to me, an insult to live miserably when grace and mercy abound. I encourage you, as I continue to do, to analyze the source of your joy, to understand more about what the joy of the Lord is and looks like, and to grab a hold of it through your personal relationship with God. When we have joy, we are a light unto others. The joy of the Lord allows us to be compassionate, to have patience, and to love. It makes life better not just for us, but for our families, our friends, our churches, our communities, and our world. It’s right there waiting for you - possess it!