Back to Joy

It’s kind of funny how this played out…

Inspired by witnessing joy within great hardship, I’ve been preparing for this week’s post about the difference between happiness and joy. The idea that happiness is fleeting, a result of what happens to us, while joy is much deeper. Lasting. Joy is from Christ. It is always in us and accessible to us, even when we face darkness.

And then, shortly after beginning to write about our assured joy- I threw out my back.

I was flat on the ground, courtesy of a herniated disc that has been wreaking occasional havoc for years. In loads of pain and fearful of how long I would be out of commission, I stared at my packed suitcase. I had been looking forward to this weekend for months- a women’s retreat (aka… no kids allowed. Just women. Just women!) Now, instead of basking in friendship, food, and faith, I would be barraged with ice packs, Ibuprofen, and insomnia.

I’ll tell ya, I didn’t run right to joy.

Day two on ice and I had grown tired of my own bad attitude.

I couldn’t change what was happening, but I sure could change how I was handling it.

I thought about a verse I jotted down just days before: Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again- rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) It doesn’t say ‘be full of joy in the Lord when things are running smoothly.’ It says always.

These words were written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison. He was not shaken by his chains or the certain threat of death. His message was that we can all have joy in any circumstance. And his secret was a close relationship with Jesus. The great gift of that relationship is the fruits of the Holy Spirit at work within us (Galations 5:22). Among those fruits is joy. Joy is everlasting.

Paul’s words were encouraging in the midst of my back attack. But even while trusting wholeheartedly that there is always joy within me, I often stumble taking that first step to receive it. Have you ever experienced that sort of joy block? We want to rely on God and see the light we know is there, but we can’t seem to find our way to it.

This week, after lots of prayer (and a chick flick movie marathon for the sake of balance), I rediscovered that a paved pathway to joy is through gratitude. No matter how big or small the obstacle we’re facing, by shifting our focus to what we are thankful for, we move closer to God and closer to the abundant joy only He can provide.

As certain as we are of the trials in our life, we can be just as confident that we possess an unlimited supply of joy for each and every day. Now that is a reason to rejoice!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is permanent.  2 Corinthians 4:18