There was this little ditty we used to sing in church when I was a kid. You probably remember it.
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Where?
Down in my heart. Where?
Down in my heart.
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart.
Down in my heart to stay.
Remember that?
There were the other verses about the “peace that passes understanding” that was a mouthful for a little kid to say, much less sing.
Then, that all time favorite verse.
If the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack. Ouch.
I always wondered whose bright idea it was to enter into spiritual warfare with Satan armed only with a tack with hopes he would sit on it. If only Adam and Eve had a tack in the Garden of Eden. Oh well.
Yet, even in the words of a children’s song – excluding the devil-tack inference, there is a truth here that is pretty deep.
It’s the truth about joy.
Joy is one of those Christian terms that we sometimes presume everyone understands. It seems simple, yet there is a good chance many do not understand what it means, fully.
Jesus spoke of joy as a creation of God’s.
In John 16 we find Jesus and his disciples (11 of them) on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is on this journey, that he shares that their lives will be filled with sorrow. Not the most encouraging word, initially.
Christ then speaks of joy. How appropriate. He has just shared how dire things will get. How hopeless they will seem. The good times will be memories for most. Yet, you won’t be alone and there is a deep joy that will come.
This is such a positive, encouraging statement from the Savior to his disciples, especially considering that the cross looms on the horizon.
John 16:16-19(ESV)
“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?
When Jesus said “in a little while” it confused the disciples. It may be confusing to you. “In a little while you won’t see me, then in another little while you will.” Jesus is speaking of his death to come. Did the disciples fully get it at this point? No, but they would. Yet, here’s the promise. Though I die soon, there will be a time when you don’t see me, but hold on. I’m coming back.
We must remember that God sees time differently than we do. We see it linearly as one event leads to another. God sees past, present, and future simultaneously. He is not constrained by something he created – time. This hurts my head to think of this, but it’s true nonetheless.
Our great, glorious God knows our needs before we have needs.
There will be times of sorrow for the disciples. This was the clear message. This was not a message just to a group of men gathering with Jesus on their way to the Garden. This is the message for every believer this side of the second coming of Christ.
Feelings of sorrow, fear and loneliness prevail in our culture. In fact the phrase "I am so alone" has been determined by marketers to elicit the most reads whether it be a magazine article title or the subject line in an email.
Many wonder if anyone cares. Many find themselves wondering if God even cares or hears their prayers.
What about when you are fully involved in serving the Lord. You’ve made the promise. You’ve publicly stated it. You’re not ashamed. You are just trying to live the fully devoted Christian life. Yet. . ..you feel alone.
The disciples would face this. You will face this. Maybe you already have.
Ever been at the end of your rope and no one care? Ever cry out to God only to hear.. . . nothing?
What a strange message from Jesus to his followers. What a discouraging message to them. . .to us.
John 16:20-22(ESV)
Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
You will be sorrowful. . .but!
But you won’t remain sorrowful. There will be a transformation. Just as God miraculously transformed water into wine, a sick child into a healthy one, a dead man into a living man, a lost creation into a born again child of God, so too will he make another miraculous transformation.
He will take your sorrow. Your pain. Your loneliness. Your emptiness.
He will transform it.
It will look nothing like sorrow any longer.
It will change completely.
Your sorrow will be transformed into JOY!
Joy. There it is. We sing about it. But what is it?
It is a state of happiness resulting from knowing and serving God, but I fear our definition of happiness does not do justice to the joy Jesus speaks of.
Happiness is temporal and based on circumstances.
Joy is deeper than that.
A Christian in a persecuted country, meeting in secret with threat of death experiences joy. It’s not easy. It’s not temporary. It’s not based on surroundings.
On the same note a person can be in a nice, air-conditioned building, listening to people sing Christian songs, taking notes from a sermon, planning lunch with family. . .and never experience joy.
Of course, joy is not automatically expressed in the secret church, nor is lack of joy automatic in a comfortable facility. The point is that externals do not determine joy.
This joy is a deeply seated pleasure. The Greek word is the same we get the term hedonism from. This sounds so opposite of what Jesus is speaking of since hedonism is defined as the philosophy of self-centered pleasure seeking. This self-centeredness is opposite of what we are called to.
About thirty years ago, John Piper, a pastor up north coined the term “Christian hedonism.” What at first seems contradictory is defined with this truth “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”
Joy is about the glory of the Father.
Joy is about selflessness.
Joy is about being a part of a larger story, rather than being satisfied with being big in a smaller story.
Joy is about contentedness.
Joy erases sorrow.
How can we be sorrowful when we are fully satisfied in God?
Apart from a relationship with God, there is no joy. There may be temporal happiness, but not joy.
Sorrow is part of life. But, it is a temporary part.
I believe Jesus wants to transform your sorrow into joy. The offer is here.
Life will still be hard. Difficulties will still mount. Just look at the disciples’ livs. Yet, in the midst of the hard times, in the midst of the pain, you will not be alone. You will not be ignored. You can have joy.
For the children of God: You are not alone. . .and never will be.
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