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.)
In I Thessalonians 1:6, Paul writes, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” The connection between joy and the Holy Spirit immediately makes sense to us, for He is God, the God of joy. What is not as obvious (at least to me) is the link between joy and affliction. The Greek word translated “affliction” always includes the idea of pressure. Thus, with the modifier “much,” Paul is talking about severe pressure. Acts 17:1-10 records some of this trouble. Read verse 5, and reflect that there is nothing new under the sun. Still, why did the Thessalonians have joy in the midst of this awful affliction? One reason is the complete contrast between the celebratory certainty of eternal salvation and the sad surety of everlasting separation. In Mark 8:37-38, Jesus poignantly points us to the path of joy: “For what doth it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” When we view the two possible outcomes that we face, the joy of our salvation only increases. Of course, we would like joy without any severe pressure, but that combination awaits us in heaven. There is no degree of difficulty that can divert us from our divine destination.