Many times, in past years, I have sung “I have the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart; I have the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay.”
To find a person who is brimming full of joy is about as rare as sighting a bald eagle these days, thanks to the very disturbing and depressing currents events in our nation and world. And I sense that much of what is passed off as joy is simply counterfeited happiness. More than 50 years ago, Joseph Folliet wrote a critique that remains very appropriate for today:
“I listen to you talk, my brothers of today; I lend an ear to your conversations, which are nothing but alternating soliloquies. You pour forth torrents of black bile in the form of criticism, complaints and accusations, forever deploring your bad luck and blaming some mysterious people called ‘they’ who never tire of playing dirty tricks on you. As it happens, ‘they’ is everything outside of you – tax collectors, neighbors, the government, perfect strangers. Nothing and nobody, from the weather to the people closest to you, can escape your censure. Why this perpetual fault-finding, which is sadistic toward others and masochistic toward yourselves? Isn’t it possible that you see the dark side of everything because there’s so much darkness in your souls? Don’t you find the world sad and ugly because you view it with a joyless eye? The cold and gloom are in you first of all. Always unsatisfied, always discontented, you make more and more demands. Now, demands point to a lack. When the destitute clamor, we can see exactly what they need. But when the rich and the surfeited multiply their demands, what can they possibly be looking for? Perhaps the one thing that wealth and prestige can’t give; joy.” (Invitation to Joy, published by Newman,1968)
I believe that of all the things we may lack the lack of joy is the saddest. And nothing makes the Gospel of Jesus Christ more appealing than its promise of joy. All through the New Testament we read and hear a symphony of joy. When Jesus was born, an angel announced, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Lk. 2:10). Throughout his teaching ministry, Jesus repeatedly promises joy to those who are his disciples. When Jesus is telling of his impending death, he reassures the disciples, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (Jn. 16:22).
The Gospel is both a message of joy and an invitation to begin living a life brimming full and overflowing with joy. Genuine joy reflects God’s very own Being. It is who He is, the source of all joy. God is not some grim and emotionless ruler of the earth and its people. The Old Testament says, “He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zeph. 3:17).
The joy God gives is different from pleasure and happiness because it is an abiding, deep-down exuberance which comes from God through His Spirit by faith in his Son, Jesus. The joy He gives is supernatural in its source and essence, the fruit of His Spirit.
Maybe you are asking how we can cooperate with this fruit-producing energy in our life? We should begin by seriously considering the conditions that Jesus lays down before promising joy to his disciples. “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (Jn. 15:10-11).
Then we can begin cultivating the fruit-producing habits of spiritual discipline by studying the scriptures, being in prayer with God, and in Christian fellowship. We may need to adjust our schedules in order to spend more time with God, remembering what David said about God, “…you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Ps. 16:11).
I want to be a joy-filled person, giving witness to others that God is faithful in all his promises. Yes, there is much to criticize and complain about, but our Heavenly Father is greater than any circumstance and is sovereign over all situations. “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10b).
And so, let us give thanks to God and let His joy overflow in all our relationships and conversations. There is no better way to enhance the quality of life and to light the darkness in our communities, church, nation, and world. Amen!
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – July 6, 2022
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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