Monday, 15 October 2007 04:00 | and posted in Spiritual Disciplines
The Bible tells us that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Have you ever stopped to think about what this verse means?
Let me rephrase it for you: the absence of joy will create weakness.
No wonder temptation is harder than it should be when I'm frustrated or unhappy. No wonder I find prayer meetings draining if everyone is just sharing their negative experiences of life. I understand now why my faith feels weak when I am stressed or anxious. A lack of joy makes me vulnerable to sin and saps my energy for life. Joylessness really does make me weaker.
Unsurprisingly, Paul tells us to always be joyful (1 Thessalonians 5:16), but how is this remotely possible in the darkest moments of our lives?
Perhaps it's not.
However, have you ever sat down to watch an episode of Scrubs when you're unhappy? I have. It's amazing how when I am depressed I can choose not to laugh at a show I normally find incredibly funny!
When I am joyless it is usually because I am depressed, annoyed, frustrated or anxious and I choose to wallow in these negative emotions. In fact, I tend to start acting like a thick-skulled numpty who refuses to smile or laugh in case it wrecks my flunk!!
Paul recognises that the majority of our joylessness is based upon our emotional take on our circumstances. I think this is why Paul commands us to be joyful always; he is encouraging us to learn to see our situations from a spiritual perspective rather than from an earthly one.
Joy is deep happiness and contentment.* I like that. Deep suggests that joy should remain unaffected by the external circumstances of our lives. Even the phrase 'the joy of the Lord' gives a sense that the joy Nehemiah was talking about is given to us by God for our strengthening.
This is why joy is a spiritual discipline. Joy makes us more open to the work of the Holy Spirit within our lives and hence spiritually stronger, yet it takes a lot of will power to choose to let a smile slip on to our lips and to release a laugh when we are feeling down.
Who would have thought that choosing to smile and laugh more would help bring us closer to God?!?
FOOTNOTE:
* According to the Collins Dictionary!