“’Why are you frightened?’ He asked, ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at My hands. Look at My feet. You can see that it’s really Me. Touch Me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.’ As He spoke, He showed them His hands and His feet. Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then He asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’” (Luke 24:38-41 NLT)
So many questions are answered in these few verses, but since our focus is joy, let me make a few observations. We tend to think of joy simply as an emotion, yet these disciples had fear and doubt (vs 38), disbelief and wonder (vs 41), but were still “filled with joy.” Their emotions were on high alert, but in spite of several negative feelings, they were still able to experience an inner certainty that what they were seeing and experiencing was real and life-transforming.
As I understand it, joy is a revelation, an attitude, a decision to respond to a given circumstance in a positive, affirming way. It’s what happens when you hear things like: “It’s a healthy girl/boy!” “The results of your cancer tests are all negative!” Yes, of course, you’re happy, but it’s so much more than an emotion. It’s a peace in your soul that something is very right, and God is the Author of it.
We sometimes wrongly surmise that if we only had a different spouse, job, physical body (looks), felt better physically, emotionally, or had more money (a better financial situation), or could just be ANYPLACE except where we are, we’d have joy! We might be happier for a few seconds, but none of those things would necessarily give us joy.
Elisabeth Elliot was right when she wrote: “The secret of joy is Christ in me, not me in different circumstances.” The fact is, joy isn’t a secret at all, it’s a decision. We can have just received incredibly bad news, be having excruciating pain, be stranded on the side of the road in an ice storm and have no cell phone service, be falling from an airplane and our parachute not open, but we can still have joy if we know Jesus. He is the reason for our joy.
As evidenced in the verses above, we can experience many positive emotions and not have joy, or many negative emotions and still have joy. Joy isn’t initiated or denied by outside circumstances, it’s governed by an internal confidence that the Lord is ultimately in control and my life is in His capable hands.
It’s helpful to know that the Lord doesn’t allow any circumstance, good or bad, to enter our lives except it passes through the filter of His permission. Does that mean He causes everything? No, but He does allow it, but only if it will ultimately serve Him in the accomplishment of His divine and perfect purposes. His intentions for us are for good and ultimately the best good for any of us is Him.
What if my body is ravished with disease and I’m in constant pain? How does that honor God? IT doesn’t, but you do by how you manage the circumstances you have. If you’re constantly complaining and making everyone around you miserable, that doesn’t honor the Lord. However, if, like Paul and Silas after having been beaten severely and chained in a Roman prison, you can still sing, praise, and honor the Lord in your trial, that is a source of honor to the Lord and gives greater evidence of your love and dependence upon Him than all the days of your health.
Therein is the “secret” revealed of your joy and its true source.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 