I admit I am a party-pooper when it comes to overused Christian practices; overused to the point it either becomes out of context or people use them as a formula or means to not be responsible for the state of affairs they are in. And I write this as a result to hearing yesterday’s sermon on “The Overcomer’s Great Joy”.
I must also upfront say that I don’t have an issue with the content of the sermon. I think what was shared has scriptural basis. It covered adequate points on why and how to be joyful. It was a timely message for all of us, especially when we face imminent threats and defeat in this fallen world, whether globally in the form of contagious diseases, or closer to home from aspects like pressures of work and people around us.
What I have an issue with is, what Christians, after hearing a sermon like, will do. Which is to just use this as the formula to the answer for all our problems. It’s understandable that we become fired up after such a sermon, eager to “practice joy” in all our circumstances, missing the point of the sermon that joy is birthed out of our salvation and not circumstances. Be joyous and all our problems will go away. Take care of our joy and the problems will take care of themselves.
However, I’m afraid to say that, trying to cough up joy from within, is something that the world knows how to do too! People of other faiths, Buddhists, Muslims, anyone who celebrates their culture’s New Year, anyone who attends a “the power is within you” motivation rally… (and the list goes on), will all tell you they can “choose” to be joyful, creating some form of joy within themselves, without the need for God.
And I have a problem with that, because then, there is no distinction between the joy we can generate from within and the true joy that comes from communion with Christ. And I think this kind of “internalised” joy is more deadly than the joy which the world offers. Mankind has created drugs and tools for you to generate your own euphoria too. The state of joy with which these drugs give are temporal, instead of a permanent joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. The “internalised” joy is more dangerous, I feel, because it stems from the pride of man, it is devoid of God, and it is a kind which creates a detachment from our problems but no in-filling afterward.
God did not give Christians joy as a license to be irresponsible or reckless with the hardships we face. We use this phrase often and it is good to be reminded where it comes from: “(And do not be grieved, for) the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10. Parenthesis to indicate words which form the beginning of the sentence. Reading this verse in context, the people of God were told to not grieve because that day was declared to be a holy day.
The joy of the Lord is given to us in order to be our strength, necessary to face up against our trials. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” ~ James 1:2-3 ESV. It does not say our troubles will go away, it just tells us to count it as joy.
Now that we have covered this very long disclaimer and introduction, my main thoughts were really, if we think joy is important, how important was joy in Jesus’ life? Did Jesus practice joy?
I came across a blog which I will reference and give due credit to. It captured everything on my thoughts about the question “Did Jesus practice joy”? I couldn’t have wrote it better. More importantly it supports what I said earlier in my disclaimer. Here it is:
https://www.scottmorton.net/articles/2014/8/27/was-jesus-joyful
I will quote his prayer here because it was the most important part of his concise article, and I felt it blessed me too, and I hope it will bless you as well:
Prayer: “Jesus, like the disciples in the Upper Room, may I experience your joy day by day. I cannot manufacture joy on my own strength and I want more than fleeting happiness that depends on my circumstances. Fill me with your joy today even in the midst of daily sadness. Amen.” (By Scott Morten)
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