Genuine Joy

Genuine Joy

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! –Philippians 4:4

I spent plenty of after-school afternoons with Batman, That Girl, Speed Racer, The Munsters, and The Partridge Family. Remember that Partridge Family theme song, “C’mon, Get Happy”? Don’t you sometimes wish that “getting happy” were as easy as lip-synching along with David Cassidy? The truth is, a person can’t just decide to have joy. Genuine joy is not an act of willpower or positive thinking. It is a spontaneous, soul-level response to the most solid, satisfying joy in the universe.

And while we could never expect to always be full of joy on our own, it is not unrealistic to always be full of joy in the Lord if he is the source of our joy. This is what Paul tells us, and he has tremendous credibility in the matter. Paul writes these words from a jail cell—a jail cell in which he endured the cold, encountered mistreatment, and experienced hunger—the kind of suffering that, on the surface, would seem to justify a joyless existence. But over and over in his letters, Paul writes of joy in the midst of suffering in the lives of believers. In Romans 5:3 he said, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us.” In his letter to the Thessalonians he wrote, “You received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). To the Corinthians he wrote about the churches in Macedonia, “Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2).

How could Paul have joy in his jail cell? And how can you have joy in your dysfunctional family, with your deteriorating health, or in your dire circumstances? You can rejoice in the Lord at all times, in any situation, because he is always who he says he is. If you have God, you have a durable, rugged joy that cannot be diminished by anyone or anything. It is not superficial or flimsy, but deep and firm. You can rejoice in pain and in poverty and in problems. True joy is your abiding possession if you are in Christ.

Perhaps my joy is not as fragile as I think it is, Lord. I know that you never command me to do anything that I cannot do, and you are my resource for what I need to obey your command to rejoice.

DIGGING DEEPER