Living the Joy

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I wll rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17, 18

While talking by phone a few days ago with one of my overseas friends, I asked her about a mutual friend. “Oh,” my friend said, “she’s having challenges, but she is so positive,” and she repeated a number of times later in our conversation, with admiration, that our friend had a positive attitude. What is it about some people that causes them to have a radiant spirit, despite hard circumstances? I think it’s joy.

The words “joy” and “happines” are not true synonyms. Happiness seems to be connected with externals, material assets such as-houses, cars, a good bank account, the ability to go on exciting vacations. Some people depend on these as evidences to feel happy, and an absence of them causes their spirits to sag. Happiness hovers close to the surface of our emotions and can change with our changing circumstances.

Joy is different. It resides deeper within us and is not easily shaken by outside forces, nor is it influenced by our moods and changing fortunes. True, there are joy-stealers that try to rob us of our inner joy, for instance, the state of the world, the political atmosphere in the nation, or financial setbacks. And perhaps the greatest joy-stealers may be people, who by their words and attitudes threaten to upend our equanimity.

But outside forces are ineffective against those whose inner world is inhabited by joy. Consider the prophet Habakkuk’s situation. He prophesied, under God’s guidance, that the people of Judah were in for a dreadful time because of their sins. The Babylonians would come in and wreak havoc on the nation and carry the people away into captivity. But our text for today says it all. No matter what dire conditions loomed ahead, and the prophet lists several, he says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” This doesn’t mean that the prophet is ignoring reality; he just doesn’t worry about it. Instead, he relies on the God of his salvation. This absence of worry is a gift, the gift of joy. It takes a real connection with Christ to look disaster in the face and say, “I will rejoice.” And we can do so because “the joy of Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). It is this strengthening joy that helps us remain positive, like my overseas friend, when the challenges pile up. Let us learn a lesson from my friend and from Habakkuk. Be joyful!

Prayer: Lord, let your Holy Spirit find a permanent place in my life so that my joy will always be full.