Our source of joy is not of this world. Do we truly comprehend what an incredible gift that is?
As Christians, we know we’re supposed to choose joy. Paul instructs us repeatedly throughout his letters that we should be joyful:
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12
“Rejoice always.” – I Thessalonians 5:16
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4
When we talk about trials we are going through, we often finish with: “…and I know I’m supposed to be joyful in spite of this, and I’m really trying, it’s just so hard!” And it’s true. It is really hard for us as humans—when we feel joyless, when we are surrounded on all sides by things that feel like they were specifically designed to steal our joy—to choose to be joyful.
But I think the problem is we are thinking about it the wrong way. The gift is not the joy. The gift is the ability to choose joy.
Don’t misunderstand me. Joy is very much a blessing from God in our Christian lives. But we often miss the truth that, as Christians, we have been gifted with the choice to claim our inheritance of joy every single day of our lives. And this joy isn’t tied to anything around us. It isn’t based on anything temporal or fleeting.
God is our source of joy, and we have the ability to access this joy any time we choose. And in this truth there is so much freedom.
It’s freedom from being tossed around by every crappy thing that happens to us. It’s freedom from having our entire day ruined when we wake up to a broken dishwasher or cat puke on the carpet. It’s freedom from having our mood dictated by whether our kids are getting along or pushing every single one of each other’s buttons.
We think it’s hard to choose joy because, quite simply, we don’t actually understand what God gave us. Without God’s gift of Jesus on the cross, without the Holy Spirit living within us, we would be stuck living lives in which our joy really could only come from external things.
Imagine if our circumstances truly were the only thing that could bring us joy. Imagine if we had no choice but to wait for our trials to be over before we could experience joy again, if literally the only times we could be joyful were those when things were going right in our lives.
Paul’s instruction to be joyful shouldn’t be a burdensome command. Let it instead serve as a reminder of the gift we have been given—a source of joy that is untouchable, no matter what this life may throw our way.