“God’s providence, which is nothing else but the carrying on of his decree, should be a counterpoise against discontent; God hath set us in our station, and he hath done it in wisdom. We fancy such a condition of life is good for us; whereas if we were our own carvers, we should often cut the worst piece.”
Thomas Watson
Joy is an elusive thing. And it is even more difficult to maintain. When the Israelites were working to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem and were discouraged by the opposition they were facing, the godly Nehemiah proclaimed to them, "The joy of the Lord is our strength." Why did Nehemiah tell his fellow countrymen this? Why is it that the joy of the Lord is our strength? I believe it is because joy is a spiritual force that is powerful. It is a frame of mind and heart and spirit that is beyond description but which clearly enables Christians to experience victory in their Christian walk. It is why Paul said, "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim 6:6).
Thomas Watson, the Puritan, who wrote the book, "Divine Contentment," outlined how there is no more important spiritual reality for Christians than joy. And Watson indicated that it is a condition of the heart that cannot be touched by outward influences, saying, "When there is a tempest without, there may be music within; a bee may sting through the skin, but it cannot sting to the heart; outward afflictions cannot sting to a Christian’s heart, where contentment lies."
Thomas Watson, the Puritan, who wrote the book, "Divine Contentment," outlined how there is no more important spiritual reality for Christians than joy. And Watson indicated that it is a condition of the heart that cannot be touched by outward influences, saying, "When there is a tempest without, there may be music within; a bee may sting through the skin, but it cannot sting to the heart; outward afflictions cannot sting to a Christian’s heart, where contentment lies."
I have to confess to you, I struggle for joy. I'm affected by circumstances much more than I'd like to admit. And when things don't go my way, I am tempted to try to find my joy, my happiness, my comfort in something other than God and in my faith. I’m finding that I really don’t realize how much I have been in love with comfort and convenience. It is so embedded in the materialistic culture that we live in in America that I did not see how much of an idol it was until these things were removed...and I began to experience some discomfort.
But I’m also realizing that when absent, my lack of joy simply indicates I am not trusting the providence of God. It is He that predetermined that we would have a year, studying Italian 6-7 hours a day, trying to adjust to the culture and learning how to develop relationships with Italians to know how to witness and give them the Gospel. He also providentially put us in a place where it takes 2-3 hours to wash one load of laundry and no dryers to dry it, 2 weeks to replace a broken fridge, 3 weeks to fix an alternator, a month to make a simple copy of a car key, rainy, drizzly, cold days that seem to last forever and stores that are not open for 4-5 hours in the middle of the day. Recently, we’ve been having problems with computers crashing. Talk about frustrating…it is our connection with the outside world as we live here away from all those we love. But when I begin to murmur and complain, I reveal that I am not trusting the providence of God in relation to my circumstances.
Watson says that murmuring is no better than mutiny in the heart; it is a rising up against God. He writes, “When the sea is rough and unquiet, it casts forth nothing but foam: when the heart is discontented, it casts forth the foam of anger, impatience, and sometimes little better than blasphemy. Murmuring is nothing else but the scum which boils off from a discontented heart.”
Do you ever struggle to be joyful? Sometimes, as Christians, we separate in our minds, the meaning of happiness and joyfulness saying, "Well, I'm joyful…I’m just not happy." I wonder if this is even possible. Is it really possible to be joyful and not be happy? Or is it really possible to be truly happy without being joyful. That’s not to say that there are not times to grieve or to be sorrowful. I just wonder if joy is possible during this time. In James 4:9, James seems to contrast laughter against mourning and joy against gloom.
I think that the separation we make between joy and happiness could create a theological hole in the biblical dam that holds up our Christian joy. Can you imagine a Christian telling a pagan, "Well, I'm not happy right now but I am joyful!" What does that mean? What it may mean is, "Though I'm choosing not to trust in all that God has promised me, I am joyful" or "I'm not focusing on the truth of all that Christ did for me on the cross so that I will not have to spend eternity in hell, I do know these things and know I'm to be thankful; I'm just choosing not to do that now! But really, I am joyful!"
We were talking about it recently and we decided that, other than love, joy really is the thing that sets Christians apart in the minds of unbelievers. And joy really is the fruit of our love for God and for others. It says, “I care more about God and you than I do my circumstances.” It says, “Regardless of my station in life, I choose to love you more than I love myself and my comfort, etc.”Recently, a good friend of ours who is an Italian, broke her shoulder skiing. She is a sweet lady and her and her husband have really become sweet friends of ours. No doubt she has seen many come visit her during her long stay in the hospital (Italian hospitals are quite different than American hospitals…dirty, old and crowded…not a place you want to be for any length of time). But Jeannette and I hope that out of all the people that have visited her, she sees something different in us…a joy that is our strength and a peace that surpasses understanding.
With the conditions of life here, there are many opportunities for Italians to be discouraged. And sometimes Jeannette and I just want to pack up our bags and come home to all the comforts of American life…not to mention our friends, family and loved ones. But as we have been experiencing these difficulties and challenges, we have also begun to get a picture of the challenge that it is for Italians to believe the gospel.
Why should they believe when there is so little hope in their lives…so little to get enthusiastic about and so much to get depressed about. Why should they think that they could find hope in the gospel? Last night, a neighbor friend of ours we’ve been sharing with, attended the church associated with our ministry. Her eyes and attention were fixated on the preacher and she watched everything everyone did and said. You could tell she saw and was greatly intrigued by something in us Christians that was clearly different. I believe it is our joy.
Do unbelievers around you see a joy in you? Do you exude a love and excitement that can’t be described by anything else except that you know and walk with Christ and have experienced His salvation? Is it hard for you to choose to be mostly unaffected by your many unfortunate circumstances in light of the goodness of God toward you? As you trust in the providence of God such that you KNOW that everything you are going through has come from His hand, you will have a joy that is your strength and a peace that surpasses understanding. And the result will be unbelievers around all of us asking about the hope that is within us and experiencing His love...there is no greater love than that a man should give His life for another...and then, for His enemies. The joy that flows from this is great indeed!
