I Choose Joy

Hi Friends,

I have decided to continue on the same track as last week and make this a series. Last week, we talked about our hope. This week I will discuss joy during trials.  

As I write this we are on day 9 of a mandatory quarantine.  When will it end?  That depends on my COVID-19 test results that I should get back on Monday. I am sick. I’ve been sick for over a week...fever, slight cough, chest pressure and, sometimes, shortness of breath. I saw a doctor on Tuesday and since I was not in distress and I tested negative for pneumonia (along with both flu strains and strep) they sent me home to “hunker down” and recoup (unless things get worse.)

You might be wondering what in the world  this has to do with joy or maybe, how I could find any joy during this time?  Well, first of all happiness and joy are two totally different things. Thankfully I am finding small glimmers of happiness during this surreal time in our history...playing board/card games with my family, having movie marathons, and reading. But what about true joy?

The first thing we need to come face to face with is that we are commanded to have joy and there are no disclaimers. Philippians 3:1 says to “rejoice in the Lord,” and Philippians 4:4 says to “rejoice in the Lord always.”  There are no “what ifs” or buts included, yet joy and trials just don’t seem to fit in the same neatly wrapped package, do they?  

The beloved author, C.S. Lewis, who lost his mother at age 10 and then his wife later in life, knew trials well. In his book, “The Problem With Pain,” he said “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains.  It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  I do feel God shouting about now, don’t you? BUT, God does not leave it at that, just shouting to us to turn to Him. He lovingly calls us...calls us to joy in the midst of our trials. I find my joy in this time, not because God promises a quick fix (He doesn’t) or because if I “just have enough faith” it will all go away (It might not), but instead because He promises He is right by my side through it all. 

In Isaiah 43:2 the Lord promises:



I may not like or understand the trial, but it sure helps my heart to know I’m not alone in any of this. Another passage that is dear to my heart is In Romans 8.  In verse 35, Paul asks “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” and then he continues by answering his own question:
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Both of these passages give me great joy! Why? Well, they give me joy because I have a Savior that will see me through it all...through all the media hype, through all the fear of the unknown, through all the sickness...He is there. 

Friends, we are living in a “what if” situation right this second. You know the one that you have in the back of your mind. The one that causes anxiety to rise up in you in the midst of calm. The one that will probably never happen. It is here and we have a choice...to buckle under the fear and chaos OR to trust Christ and choose joy. Joy in a Savior that promises to never leave you, to bring you safely through, to be your strength, to fight for you, to give you wisdom, to forgive you, and to save you! Praise God! 

And that is why I am choosing joy. 

Kassy


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