Three Important Truths About Joy (Part Two)
Today we continue our series about Joy with our second important truth: 2. We should have joy even during trials.
A hanger in my unorganized closet was stuck. Instead of gently untangling it from the other hangers holding it captive, I pulled on it with all my might. After a short tug-of-war, I freed the metal hanger and the result was not unlike a mousetrap slamming shut. The angry hanger sprung out from the other hangers with great force and popped my forehead so hard I was dazed. I waited for a couple of minutes to see if there would be any other consequences.
Would I faint?
Would I feel woozy for a while?
How bad did my face look?
As the goose egg on my forehead grew, my joy decreased.
What a way to start the day, I thought.
I wanted to work out but now I was worried about passing out on the elliptical machine. How would I explain that to the doctor? You see a hanger jumped out and smacked me in the head before my workout. I didn’t know it would create a cerebral hemorrhage.
Just about that time a thought popped into my head about as fast as the hanger did. What if the hanger hit your eye instead of your forehead, Lisa? Now that would have been a lot worse.
This message, provided courtesy of the Holy Spirit, was correct, and my bad attitude flipped in a split second.
My sadness turned to joy.
I realized the Holy Spirit was right. It could have been worse.
And I was grateful for a bruised forehead.
The Apostle Paul tells us to have joy no matter the circumstances.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
Paul thought this principle was so important he repeated it so we’d get it.
But it’s difficult to have joy when you’re:
Knee-deep in illness.
When a loved one doesn’t meet your expectations.
When the mortgage is due and the bank account is upside down.
How do you have joy in the more serious issues of life?
Here are three ways to turn you sadness into joy:
1) Ask God to give you joy. In the first part of this series, we learned joy is supernatural. It should not be equated to happiness. In Psalm 30: 8-12, King David, running for his life, cried out to God for help because he couldn’t muster up the joy himself. So when he asked God for mercy, the result was positive. He said, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent” (Psalm 30:11-12). When you’re lacking joy, the Lord is ready and willing to provide. You just need to ask for it.
2) Pray you see the situation from God’s perspective. If a loved one is trying your patience, maybe God is sharpening you, forcing you to be dependent on him through prayers for relief. It could also be that God is drawing your loved one near by allowing him or her to fall into a pit that only his Father in Heaven can rescue him from. If you are sick, perhaps with God’s strength working in and through you, you will be a joyful witness to others as they watch you endure your trial. God is always at work in every situation. Remember Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
3) Focus on the good in your life. There may be ten different things happening in your world. Nine are good but the one bad thing is taking you down. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praise-worthy—think about such things.”
When Paul wrote those words, he was on death row, chained in a Roman jail. How could he be joyful? Because he knew that whatever situation he was placed in was for God’s glory. He did not focus on himself. Instead he saw it as an opportunity to encourage others in the midst of it. At the time, Paul had no idea his words would be impacting the world almost two thousand years later.
Joy is a choice.
In Chuck Swindoll’s book, Laugh Again, he says joy “is a matter of attitude that stems from one’s confidence in God—that He is at work, that He is in full control, that He is in the midst of whatever has happened, is happening, and will happen. Either we fix our minds on that and determine to laugh again or we wail and whine our way through life, complaining that we never got a fair shake.”
Will you join me in choosing joy, even in the midst of trials? Will you trust that God has a greater plan that we cannot see?
On Saturday, we’ll reveal our third and final important truth about joy.