What is your definition of belief about Christian joy? Is it something that good Christians feel with a big smile on their faces no matter what is going on in their lives? Is it something we use to avoid, escape and deny the pain in our lives? Do we use the word joy to shame others when they are in emotional pain and say to them “You should be joyful.” Sad to say I have seen the word joy in ways that make Christians feel as if they were failures in their Christian walk. If they felt sadness, hurt, depressed or even suicidal they were jumped on by Christians who think a sign of a Christian is a smiling face. Joy is not a big smile to cover up the pain, joy is not a feeling of putting on a mask and living in false hope were everything will be better if I act in a way to deny the reality of the situation. Joy is much more than a mechanism to stuff our pain deep down inside of ourselves. Joy can be in the midst of us even when life isn’t what we wish for. It doesn’t happen in spite of our circumstances but to help us in our hope of God’s providential care.
What would happen if churches plastered a smiley face on everyone at the door so they looked good? And told everyone to smile no matter what was going on. Well, look around the church you attend, is it happening? Can you go to church without putting on a face? Can you share the pain in your life without being looked down on? Jesus didn’t come to shame us into a smile. He said in Matthew 11:5 “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” The question I have for you is, “Have you used your own definition of joy to avoid the cross that God has placed in front of you?”
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
When we look at Hebrews 12:2 in light of the cross in our lives do we see Jesus approaching the cross full of happiness and smiles? Of course we don’t. We see Christ accepting His cross willfully in knowing what this cross will bring; His cross had, has and will always bring glory to the Father. It will bring full payment for the justice of God for man’s sins. It will bring us into a right relationship to God if we believe in Christ. He knew His pain had a purpose, He knew it would glorify Himself. Christ joy didn’t come from the pain of the cross but from its affects. The cross of Christ was a giant splash in the world which ripples will be felt all the way into eternity. Without Jesus death on the cross we would be lost forever.
Now let’s look at our cross. If Jesus Christ cross was so affective, will not the cross we bear bring glory to God and also bring light to a dying world? When we look at the word joy in Scripture it sometimes is used with words like cross, temptation and suffering. Romans 12:15 states: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” We are called to live in joy even when life isn’t pleasant. The hardest time to look to the end of an unpleasant or fearful time is when we are in the middle of it. God isn’t saying deny, forget or run from what is happening. He is saying place your hope in Him, not in your circumstances, strength or self-determination. We must not get stuck in the pain but also not to deny it also. Psalms 23:4 states: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The joy of the Lord is a present help in times of trouble. He wants us to trust Him in our pain; He is not glorified when we deny it. We grow when we trust in Him with our problems, when we are faithful in our mediocrity and when we place Him first in all things.
Sometimes the hardest place to feel the joy of the Lord is when we refuse to do His will in our ordinary day. That is when we need to pick up the cross of joy, when we don’t think things will change, when we long for a lesser joy than the joy of the Lord. We are not asked to be joyful in the midst of pain, we are commanded. Over and over Scripture calls us to “rejoice in the Lord.” Trust Him in knowing that life is more than our present circumstance. The joy of our salvation comes from God and not our outward appearance to others. So the next time you’re in the midst of trouble don’t use joy to avoid what is going on, but joy is knowing that God is with you. Place your hope in His plan and walk through it. Going back to Psalm 23, it plainly states that His rod and His staff comfort us when we go through the problems of life. And in many times He is our only source of hope and joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment