John 16 is today's text.
Yesterday, while decorating the house for Christmas I saw an ad for a spruce-like wreath in the shape of letters of the alphabet. In the picture three letters spelled out the word, "JOY". I loved the idea and sat down to order the three letters, e-coupon at the ready. There was free shipping - - - all was well! Then, after ordering the J and the O, I went to order the Y. Sad times....the Y was out of stock.
My JOY was incomplete, wasn't it?
With Jesus, our joy is never incomplete. Does that mean that Christians should never be sad? Of course not! Yesterday I was sad. Some days, I get weighed down by the burdens I carry for lost loved ones, and I am incredibly sad. Yesterday was also the 17th anniversary of my dad's death - - - sad with missing him too.
In this chapter, though, Jesus talks about how we can have joy. What IS that - - joy? The Greek word is "chara", and it appears many times in the New Testament, often in conjunction with the words "love" and "peace". The writer John mentions fulness of joy in 2 John 1:12, 1 John 1:4 and John 15:11, but Peter, Paul and Luke also speak of joy, in their New Testament books. You are going to laugh at me, but a better translation of the word "chara" would be "rejoicefulness" (if that were a word), or "gladness". Jesus indicates that joy is a state of heart/mind that people experience in the presence of His Holy Spirit. We might think of it as "spiritual happiness".
In the human condition, "happiness" is dependent upon our circumstances. Joy is not. Joy has its anchor in the Holy Spirit, who is our constant companion. Joy is always present in the heart of the believer, like a pilot light on a gas stove. However, we must choose to draw upon it in times of sadness. "Rejoice!" is a command to the faithful. Paul says,
"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4
So, being filled with joy is a choice we make to surrender to Christ and His Holy Spirit. Here is a key to being joyful, given to us by our Lord Himself in John 16:23-24 - - -
“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
(The Message version)
The Lord knew (vs. 1) that there would come times of extreme persecution, sadness, trials, and that we would want to give up. Yesterday, a friend shared with me that a dear one has been diagnosed with dementia. That is a trial. Another friend shared that she has been diagnosed with lupus. Trial!
How can we have joy - - - that assurance of well-being that transcends life's sometimes ugly circumstances?
Jesus tells us to draw near to Him, to pray. He tells us to align our will with the will of our Father in Heaven, to pray according to what He has revealed to us. This is how we choose joy!
Some of us (me too!) don't know how to pray over some trying circumstances. That's okay. We are not meant to know or understand everything. If we could or if we did, we could not walk by faith. Instead, we would be walking only by what we can see (as the unbelieving world does), or we would be walking according to our own puny, pitiful "power".
When we pray in faith, the Holy Spirit helps us! Yes, He intercedes for us in our prayers, so that if we pray something ridiculous, He helps us straighten it out on the way to the Father's throne. Isn't that a precious promise? I didn't just make that up, Y'all. Look at Romans 8:26-28 - - - oh glory!
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
The Message
So, no matter...no MATTER what comes - - - persecutions, martyrdom!, sickness, loss, - - no matter. Joy is the command, and joy is the answer. Oh beloved...He told His disciples this so that they would not stumble (vs. 1 - - Greek "skandalisthete") and fall over life's sometimes horrible circumstances. His message is the same for us today.
Oh, joy to the world! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room...and Heaven and nature sing!
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for reminding us how to respond to the hatred of the world, to the devastating effects of sin (sickness, accidents, death, to name a few). Remind us to fly to you immediately and to pray according to Your will, as best we understand it. You have promised that if we do this, our joy will overflow like a river that overflows its banks. What a precious promise! Fill us with Your Holy Spirit today, precious Lord. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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