Joy!

I used to hear a song that had the lines, “Don’t worry—be happy!” in it. That song made me think that our emotions could be turned on and off, like a kitchen faucet. I think that most people come to realize that we cannot “manufacture” our own happiness—at least, not on demand or permanently.

I’ve noticed that a lot of Christians also think that we have the ability to produce Christian character—one of them being, “joy.” Joy, like other Christian virtues, is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23); therefore, it is only logical that it stems from God (Romans 14:17) and can only be given by Him (Romans 15:13, Acts 14:17).

The thing that causes the greatest anguish is the absence of God. The thing that produces the greatest joy is seeing or encountering God. This is the way Jesus describes His death and resurrection. In John 16, Jesus said, "In a little while you will see me no more…you will weep and mourn…” (vs. 16, 20). Then Jesus spoke about His resurrection, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy…Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (vs. 20, 22). This is what we see whenever people heard about, saw, or encountered the risen LORD (Matthew 28:5-8, Luke 24:40, 50-53, John 20:19-20).

Remarkably, according to Scripture and Jesus Himself, even the Old Testament characters, Abraham and David were joyously looking forward to “this” day (John 8:56-57, Acts 2:24-35). But one of the most powerful and remarkable statements comes from a Psalm that a lot of people are familiar with. Many of us have heard it quoted a thousand times in hundreds of different settings. However, when we look at where this quote was taken from, our use of this quote almost sounds sacrilegious. Listen again to the quote in its context:

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
--Psalms 118:22-23