Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
For the past week, we have been considering the joy of God the Holy Spirit. This joy is ours not only in happiness but also in heaviness, for the Spirit gives to us the joy of salvation, which is ours through faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:6 states, “wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations [trials].” The immediate context is the “salvation” of verse 5. The contrast between our trials and our salvation is compelling. Yes, life’s challenges can easily weigh us down (“heaviness”). However, these difficulties are temporary (“for a season”), purposeful (“if need be” – the Greek word for “be” is dei, a word which is often referred to as the “divine must,” merits its own series of serious study, and tells us that God has a plan even for our tribulations), and varied (“manifold”). Furthermore, the use of “precious” in verse 7 is humbling, particularly when we compare its usage to I Peter 1:19, 2:4, and 2:6-7. Through all of these hardships, we are to rejoice because salvation and the Holy Spirit cannot and will not be taken from us. God is eternal, and His deliverance of us is likewise eternal. With salvation comes the Holy Spirit; with the Holy Spirit comes salvation. One reason to rejoice immediately becomes two, because God is never doing merely one thing.