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.)
The joy of the Lord is your mountaintop,” as we have translated Nehemiah 8:10. The joyful nature of God works out into all that He does. We find a very specific statement of this theological point in Psalm 119:68, especially the first sentence: “Thou art good, and doest good.” This pithy statement is crucial to knowing God. He is intrinsically good and thus does good, including bringing His joy into our lives. The context of Psalm 119 is a lengthy discussion of the Law of the Old Testament. A thorough reading reveals that God’s Law is an expression of His love for us. We do not expect law and love together; but because God is good, His giving of the Law must also be good. It is fashionable today to say that Christianity is about relationships not rules. That statement is a false disjunction, creating an either/or situation when both are true. As a practical matter, for example, every relationship has a different set of rules to govern it. Marriage, family, friendship, business, and all other relationships have distinct behavioral expectations. We can be certain that our relationship with Jesus, God the Son, is defined by His goodness, which includes His joy. Thus, as Psalm 119:32a says, “I will run the way of Thy commandments.” No I will not drearily trudge God’s way; I will eagerly set a fast pace up the path He has placed before me, a pathway that leads to the good mountaintop, to the mountaintop of joy.