Finding True Joy In All Circumstances

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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This paper is dedicated to my Mother, Diana Gruber who has had two bouts with two different types of cancer, including infections, surgeries, chemo, radiation, etc… and has managed to find radical Jesus joy in the midst of it all. I hope to live like that. I love you Mom. This paper was written for my Public Speaking class and went along with a 5-6 minutes speech.

Philosophy I Live By: Finding True Joy In All Circumstances

Webster’s Dictionary defines joy as “The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” [1] The world would tell us that joy comes from achieving certain goals or owning more “stuff.” Regardless of how many times people end up feeling empty from gaining the “stuff” they are told will satisfy, the culture still pushes to gain as much material items as possible, thinking that “just a little more” will satisfy.  Jim Carrey once said, “I wish everybody could get rich and famous and have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it’s not the answer.” [2] Our joy as Christians is in Jesus Christ and what He has done on the cross for us.

This message of needing more “stuff” begins to have it’s effect on us as soon as we are but small children and can watch commercials or simply see what our friends have and therefore what we seem to lack.  As we grow up, we continue to believe that true joy and satisfaction comes from material items or often, another relationship with another boy or girl.  Surely this will bring us joy.  “This car is WAY better than my last one!” or “She is so amazing. This girl is definitely different!” We will continually shift our sense of where joy comes from, or how much “stuff” will finally leave us satisfied, on a never ending journey until death, unless we surrender our lives to Christ and find the object of our Joy, rather then blundering around in hopes of eventually finding something that takes us beyond fleeting joy.  As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “The very nature of Joy makes nonsense of our common distinction between having and wanting.” [3]

God’s word points to Joy multitudinous times throughout the Old and New Testament, but as a whole, the Church is not in the Word, so we are missing the exit signs along our road that point to Jesus as the Object of true Joy.  Therefore, as Christians, we are largely, believing the same lies that the world is, in regards to where joy can be found.  “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound” (Psalms 4:7 NIV).  This verse in the modern context would say, “Jesus, I am happier and more joyful in you than with my Ferrari or werewolf boyfriend.” In other words, nothing compares to “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8b NASB).  Furthermore, this Psalm of David was written during the time when grain and wine would have been a huge source of revenue, so to have them “abounding,” would have meant that you not only had large amounts of food and drink for your family, but enough left over to sell and make more money.  In today’s culture, this could be comparable to having more than enough to live comfortably and multiple stocks and bonds that were flourishing, which is the desire of most Americans, to have enough to live comfortably and then some.  So to live as Paul is demonstrating in Philippians is one radical way to live: Nothing compares to knowing Christ. If we can get to this point and truly surrender everything, then we will only be a more effective witness for Christ to the world since “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20a NASB).  David M Howard Jr. spoke to this point when he said, “True joy only comes as a result of our experience of God, not through the pursuit of various pleasures” [4]

Joy is vitally important to the Christian faith for various reasons, but mainly because it reflects to the world that we have found what the world is still so desperately searching for – true joy – unaware that ultimately, their own heart’s desire is for Christ.  When we exude joy in the midst of pain and suffering, success and good fortune, weeping and mourning, it speaks to the fact that our joy is caught up in something greater than ourselves or in fleeting, temporary “things,” and that’s radical.  In other words, regardless of the internal or external factors that plague me, who dies, who leaves me, or how much money I have, I will STILL have joy, because I have Jesus.

The whole pinpoint of Christian Joy is in what Jesus Christ has done on the cross and what He has still promised to do! The New Testament radiates Joy through Jesus, his saving power, lives transformed, etc… “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” or “to the full” (John 10:10).  Jesus Christ is telling us that the reason He came was so that we could have “full” life, a life of Joy.  Our response to Christ’s coming on our behalf should echo David, the psalmist: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy (emphasis own) in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalms 16:11 NIV).  Of course, our joy exceeds the mere fact that Christ came; it is wrapped up in the fact that Christ died and rose (emphasis’ own).

The greatest joy a Christian can experience happens when they are staring into the face of Christ; Christ fully crucified, fully beaten, suffered fully and yet fully alive, having conquered sin and death on our behalf, so that we may have life abundantly! Paul expounds to this point: “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 NASB).  Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, we may have new life; we were utterly lost and deserved death for our sins, yet Christ came and took our place.  That should bring us a Joy that even we don’t fully understand. “Joy is the greatest mystery; the love of God is beyond human comprehension.  Slowly growing up into Christ’s fullness, human beings are infants who but dimly perceive the glory. Yet we see enough to trust that ‘all will be well, all will be very well.’” [5] Our Joy may not always make total sense, nor should it, for we are seeing but a glimpse of our Lord, and the fullness of joy that will be ours when we spend eternity with God.  Paul of Tarsus understood this: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV).  By way of explanation, this means, “I am only seeing a dimly lit portion of my Jesus; just enough to ‘trust that all will be well,’ but one day I will see him face to face in all His glory and majesty!” We could go on and on talking about Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection because it is so beautiful but ultimately our response as His blood-bought bride should be this: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NIV – emphasis’ own).

Now, naturally, there are many ways joy plays out or how it is joyful in different circumstances through a realization of varying attributes of Christ.  I believe there are four big ways we experience joy, (though there are definitely more) and also that they point to the same joy Christ has and experienced on our behalf.  They are The Joy of Gospel Unity with Christ, The Joy of Gospel Discontentment, The Joy of Gospel Sharing, and The Joy of Gospel Suffering.  Using Jesus and Paul the apostle as examples for how we ought to live, we will see how these functioning aspects of joy played out in their lives.

There is true joy to be found in having unity with Christ through the gospel that makes all things new.  We are no longer separated by a curtain, in which only the priests can go.  We are allowed and blessed to have unity with the Holy Spirit in us! Paul the apostle, who would have been one of the first converts into a relationship with God, where the Holy Spirit now worked directly in and through people’s lives, noted that unity.  I use this verse again because of its power to reveal the new relationship we have with our Lord.  “Therefore we have been buried with Him (emphasis own) through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 NASB).  This verse points to unity and joy in Christ; that because of Christ’s sacrifice and his willingness to take our sin, we have unity with Him through his blood.  This unity we share with Him wasn’t created for us, but is more of an allowance to enter into something that already existed between the trinity.  Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NASB).  Unity! So when Jesus Christ came and paved the way for new life and entrance into a direct relationship with Him, we are left to say, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NIV).  The oneness we share with Christ, we also share with one another, which culminates in the beautiful thing called “the body of Christ” or the Church.  Paul was constantly pleading with and commending the act of unity.  “…make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Philippians 2:2 NASB).  Paul’s joy was being brought to completion when those in the Church were dwelling together in unity, being bound up with Christ as the cornerstone, which leaves less room for tension between one another and more room for the gospel to be spread.  Lastly, this Joy of Gospel Unity should manifest itself in prayer.  Those in unity or in friendship constantly converse, so in the same way, we ought to constantly be engaging in prayer with our Heavenly Father.  Paul Murray said, “In prayer we begin to realize that God has made our hearts so deep, our love so mysterious, that nothing apart from God will ever fully satisfy us or bring us lasting joy.” [6]

Britt Merrick, pastor of Reality Carpinteria, Santa Barbara says, “That, wherever we are in terms of growth, there ought to be a sort of ‘holy, gospel discontentment’ that says, “I want more of what I have in Jesus!” [7] Imagine you just bought a beautiful looking mirror with amazing designs etched into the wood, but the mirror itself was covered in dust and stains so that you were barely able to make yourself out.  Your first desire would be to clean the mirror so you could see clearly.  This is how our relationship with God ought to be.  Even after Christ has come into our lives, we will still have to deal with living in a world of sin, though ultimately Christ dealt with that on the cross.  Because of sin, our relationship with God is the mirror.  We will only be able to see His glory to a certain extent, but we are constantly laboring away with joy to clean the mirror and polish it so we can see Jesus better.  This “holy, gospel discontentment” is righteous and was seen in the life of Jesus and Paul.  “‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (Mark 14:36 NIV).  At Jesus’ hardest time, while facing death, He still wanted the will of the Father.  He wanted more of God and less of his desires.  If our Lord and Savior humbled himself and took on death so that He could fulfill the will of his father, then we too should want more of Jesus all the time and His will for us.  Lastly, we see this same “holy, gospel discontentment” in the life of Paul, who considered “everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NIV).  Paul lived a profound lifestyle. “Paul had been radically transformed. He was a Christian killer. He used to go around looking for Christians to kill. Now he’s a Christian-maker. He used to persecute the church now he’s planting churches. Homeboy was changed.” [8] Paul, who had one of the most significant 180-degree changes EVER, is still in a state of “holy discontentment.” He wants more of Jesus. “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not (emphasis own) regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:12-13 NASB).  If the man who died on the cross for our sins and the man who is responsible for the majority of the New Testament are both showing this “holy, gospel discontentment” in their lives for wanting more of Jesus and God, then surely we should have a Joy in Jesus that is constantly saying, “I want more of what I have in Jesus.”

The next big joy that we have in Jesus should be the most prominent and easy to see by the world, and that is the Joy of Gospel Sharing.  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).  If that is true, then our “cup would be overflowing” (Psalms 23:5b NIV) in a burning desire to spread God’s love and point society to God’s truth. “But the real privilege on these occasions is the opportunity somehow to be or to become the instrument of a love much greater than any that we ourselves possess.” [9] We have been saved and so should be on mission to save others for Christ’s kingdom, but in the end, it is not about us; it is still all about Jesus.  This is why Paul said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NIV).  This was one of Jesus’ biggest reasons for coming to earth: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 NASB).  Soon after the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, the disciples are on mission and are seeping with joy as they spread and share the gospel.  We see in Acts 2:46-47 (NIV), the believers “praising God… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  The joy that had come to them from Gospel Sharing was so mighty that all they could do was praise Jesus, and the Lord blessed that.

The last major joy that should be present in a Christian’s life is Joy in Gospel Suffering.  This is perhaps one of the most counter-intuitive statements one can make and is believed to be impossible by many people, including Christians.  For this to happen, I believe our life has to no longer be our own.  We must have surrendered, allowing Christ to live through us, since He is our source of joy, otherwise we will be focused on our own feelings and situations.  Pastor Britt Merrick understands suffering, as his eight-year old daughter, Daisy is going through her second bout with cancer, and he says, “But if your identity is anchored in Christ, so that you are able to say, ‘Everything I need I already possess in Him’, than suffering drives you deeper into your source of joy.” [10] This is such an extreme way to live and why wouldn’t it be, when it’s actually Christ working and living and breathing through us, so that when suffering comes, we just grasp onto Jesus and soak up His truth in the word, knowing “that the testing of” our “faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2 NIV).  If we are to truly find joy in suffering because of who Christ is then it is vitally important that we read our bibles and know the Word of God because “The gospel alone provides us with the foundation to maintain radical joy in remarkable loss.” [11] Only the Gospel of Christ, which is counter-cultural in it self, can point us to authentic joy in Christ Jesus our Lord.  One last look at Jesus and the Apostle Paul will reveal the odd and beautiful nature of finding joy in suffering.  The anonymous author of Hebrews says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).  WOW! Jesus had joy in the midst of suffering, knowing that he would rise again to take the throne.  This isn’t just joy in suffering, but joy while heading towards death! Our Christ went ahead and set the ultimate example of joy in all circumstances.  Paul’s words in Philippians regarding joy in suffering are truly intense: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).  Paul wants to know Jesus more and more so badly that he wants to share in Christ’s sufferings! All the verses that have been used thus far are a Christian’s food and supply to experience joy in good times and times of suffering, which is why it is so, so vital for Christians to read the Bible on a daily basis and allow it to direct their life.  These four big ways we experience joy in Christ are crucial to the life of a Christian; that is, one that takes the Word of God seriously enough to live according to its standards.  When we do this, we exceed the limits of this world of sin and enter into God’s service as He uses us as vessels to testify to the world that our joy speaks to the fact that our faith is a saving faith. To Him, who dealt with our sin on the cross and allowed us to become children of God, be the glory forever!

Let us be wary of the misplaced affection of Joy, which can tend to make joy itself into an idol, so that we are living for joy, rather than for Christ.  C.S. Lewis knew this too well.  For years he had been following in the “track left by the passage of Joy – not the wave but the wave’s imprint on the sand.” [12] For years, C.S. Lewis had been ignoring the exit signs that pointed to Christ, and rather focusing on the sign itself, or as he stated, the impression left by the wave, but not the wave, which is the mighty, powerful, and loving Christ.

Recently, in my own life, Jesus has been teaching me to have joy in all circumstances of my life.  I am naturally a joyful person who is able to be excited in most areas I encounter, but as any human, I still become angry or sad.  I’ve found that the more time I spend in scripture and with God, the more joy I experience, enabling me to love others. Eventually, suffering is going to come and we won’t feel any joy at all in our lives; it is in those times that we push into the source of our joy. The second fruit of the spirit, Joy, is what I strive to live my life by.  I fall short daily, but through God’s grace and my continued time in the word and desire to push into Jesus, I will be able to say, “as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20b NIV).

Lastly, many would object to the points made thus far, saying they have been hurt too much and experienced far too much pain in their life to ever have lasting joy.  If that is true, then it wouldn’t hurt to try Jesus, whose blood already dealt with all your pain, suffering, and hurt so that you may experience Joy in Gospel Unity, Joy in Gospel Discontentment, Joy in Gospel Sharing, and Joy in Gospel Suffering.  The cross of our Lord has paid our debt and offers healing! Once we step into that free offer we can stand up in Christ and say with sincerity, the old has gone, the new has come!

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