Losing Joy | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Losing Joy | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ken Grant
02/02/21
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A topic that has been much on my mind through the recent ordeal that so many of us have been experiencing is joy. While joy is closely related to happiness, it in fact has its source in a very different place. Being happy is directly correlated with positive events around us whether we are responsible for them or not. When things are going our way, when we succeed, when people say good things about us, and any number of other positive events, we get the feeling of happiness. But, importantly, such a feeling is dependent on circumstances outside of ourselves and can easily turn in the other direction quickly. What goes up will often come down and a person on top of the world one day can easily fall all the way down. Happiness is good, but it is ephemeral and can’t be relied upon. It is that shifting sand that Jesus warned us will do us no good when the storms of life hit and He was clear that given enough time they will do so.

Joy is significantly better than happiness. While in good times they can be difficult to differentiate, during times of struggle the difference can become stark indeed. When all is going as we expect then we feel good and peaceful and have no doubts. But, when the storms of life rage and things are going in exactly the opposite direction of how we think they should go then feelings of happiness rush out and feelings of unease and depression fill their spot. We become irritable and lash out as we feel we are being treated unfairly and everything in life seems to be set against us. It is in such times that too many who call themselves followers of Christ will fall into old, bad habits and God becomes a source of complaint rather than a source of trust and hope for the future. While we should be able to maintain joy in such situations, we often lose it because we have conflated joy and happiness. We have rested our joy on uncertain circumstances rather than on the rock of belief in an eternal God who always acts for our good.

The greatest thief of real joy is improper expectation. When we assume that God will do whatever we want if we only ask then we make God our servant and quickly fall into despair when events do not turn out the way we think they should. When we are convinced God is committed to our happiness rather than our good then our expectations will inevitably be dashed and our frustration will rise. I have seen too many who began well with Christ but found themselves falling away because God would not give them what they desired and what they believed would make them happy. Such people have in many cases accepted a wrong view of the gospel that focuses not on God’s glory but on personal fulfillment.

In the end God’s purposes will be fulfilled. Joy comes from placing ourselves as His disposal and being about His business. Jesus found His greatest fulfillment in doing the will of the Father and so will we. In a fallen world we can experience happiness but it is usually fleeting and dependent on too many circumstances that are out of our control. To the degree that we align our expectations with God’s will then we will not only find happiness but real joy and that is by far the greatest reward possible in this life and in the world to come.

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