Unshakeable Joy
What is joy? To many of us, the face of joy might be a toddler eating an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, the epitome of delight. However, once the ice cream disappears - or falls to the ground! - this fleeting sort of “joy” is gone. As Christians walking in the Spirit, we are told to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). Another way to phrase this is, “Take delight in the Lord always.” Joy as a fruit of the Spirit is not fleeting happiness subject to shifting circumstances. It is a deep, lasting contentment growing from trust in our sovereign, loving God regardless of our circumstances.
As I reflected on my own life, I realized I have experienced the greatest joy in the Lord during my greatest suffering. At the height of the pandemic, I was blind and seemingly alone in a hospital room, dealing with intense pain caused by a radioactive disk embedded in the front of my right eye. That evening would be followed by 36 hours of traumatic, excruciating pain. I clung to the reality that God heard my cries for help, and I knew He was present in the midst of my darkness and pain. There were no warm fuzzies from the Spirit, yet the truth of His presence was my lifeline. I turned Shane and Shane music on shuffle, and the two songs that came on were “Psalm 46 Lord of Hosts” and “Though You Slay Me,” both songs about worshiping God in the midst of suffering. I couldn’t actually sing the words, but they flowed from my heart as a declaration of trust in the One who would never leave me:
My heart and flesh may fail
The earth below give way
But with my eyes, with my eyes I'll see the Lord
Lifted high on that day
Behold, the Lamb that was slain
And I'll know every tear was worth it all
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need
Though tonight I'm crying out
Let this cup pass from me now
You're still all that I need
You're enough for me
These songs still bring tears to my eyes. I have never known such joy as that night, because I experienced that God Himself is the greatest gift and truly all I need. He will never leave us no matter how dark the night, no matter how great our sin, no matter how weak our faith, because Christ was forsaken in our stead. Hanging on a cross in the darkness and excruciating pain, He was left alone by the Father, crying out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” All so we can cry out with unshakable joy,
Lord of Hosts, You're with us
With us in the fire
With us as a shelter
With us in the storm
You will lead us
Through the fiercest battle
Oh where else would we go
But with the Lord of Hosts
He will never lead us where He has not gone before. He is always with us. As we walk in the Spirit through prosperity, calamity, happiness, grief, past death and into unbroken life, the joy of the Lord is our strength. We can truly rejoice, always in His presence, hoping in His corporeal return, and holding on to the promise of seeing His face:
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
My lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
In your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:3-4
Further reading: Psalm 16