Oh Joy! Part One

At the birth of Jesus the angels said “I bring you good tidings of great joy.”

“Joy to the world the Lord has come.” Even if you don’t sing it, show it.

In walking in a public place recently have you seen anyone who looked joyful? Most look like the circumstances of life have sucked the joy out of them. Many faces appear to have hearts singing the Roy Owens and Roy Clark classic:

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me.”

We all have those valley of the shadow of death experiences, but we can come out of the valley refined by experiences therein with the Good Shepherd. Such is the appropriate response of the believer to shelter and strength provided by the Lord if theirs is a gestalt relationship with Him. Realizing “gestalt” is not a word in the working vocabulary of many it is worth noting it means two so closely identified they appear as one. When such is the believer’s experience it becomes clear what Jesus meant when He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15: 11).

Adversity isn’t the adversary of joy, it is an advantage advanced by it.

It is as the lines from John Schiller’s poem added to Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” herald: “Joy! Joy! Joy, beautiful spark of Divinity, Daughter of Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, Heavenly one, Thy sanctuary!”

“Ode to Joy” symbolizes hope, unity and fellowship. The poem is even more meaningful when it is realized Elysium is a place or state of perfect happiness; paradise; that is joy.

Being drunk with fire is comparable to today’s athletic metaphor of being all fired up. Joy enables such.

There are basically three types of joy.

There is the joy of salvation. The hearts of sinners erupt with joy when it is realized their sins are forgiven and heaven’s portal is open to them. Oh joy!

There is the joy of sincerity resulting when dedication to the Lord matures. This is a result of experience and knowledge showing forth the goodness of the Lord even in life’s darkest hour.

There is the joy of service rendered as a result of love for the Lord being experienced. It is an attitude of “What now, dear Lord, may I do to serve you.” Oh joy!

Throughout the Bible, there are stories of joy in response to God’s blessings and celebration of His promises. The same is true of persons caught up in the whirlwinds of difficulty. Our Lord enables us to navigate difficult situations without happiness while sustaining our joy.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15: 13). Oh joy!