Our Hearts Find Gladness In
Him
THE JOY FACTOR
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A man's wisdom makes his face shine,
And the sternness of his face is changed.
—Ecclesiastes 8:1
At the beginning of this book I mentioned that a television producer asked me some thoughtful questions on the subject of joy during an interview on a Christian channel in Chicago. I'm afraid my replies at that time were rather impromptu. Each question was specifically designed to challenge the idea of a God who smiles and to investigate a gospel that actually promises to bring joy into our lives. We shall take them in order:
"You speak of God having a smile on His face. We don't often think of God that way, do we?"
"No, we don't think that way because, as Dr. Freud said, people like to create a deity in their own image, and in our own image many of us are not smiling either. But the God we Christians love and worship is now a blown-up homo sapiens. He is the living Lord, the King of creation, and the heavenly Father of all who love and worship Him. It's not hard for me to picture such a wonderful God as smiling."
"You say that the Bible itself places a high priority on joy. How so?"
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"I would single out particularly the book of Isaiah, the Psalms, and certain passages in the New Testament. The truth is, however, that expressions of joy and gladness are scattered through the entire Scriptures. I would also point to the joy-filled festivals of the Jewish people in the Old Testament, which speak for themselves.
"How did the joy that Jesus had, and that He conveyed to others, affect the New Testament church?"
"It bowled the disciples over. They had never seen anything like it. That's why they left their fishing nets and went with Jesus. Of course, it was not all joy. Much of the gospel narrative as it stands is taken up with conflict, and rightly so, for our Lord had a mission to carry out, and it drew opposition from the start. But apart from all the controversies we can find clear suggestions that the sunny effect Jesus' person had on the people as a whole, disciples included, seems to have been nothing short of sensational.
"To take one illustration: At Pentecost the joy of the disciples appeared so evident that bystanders made fun of them, thinking they were drunk. Peter refuted the charge and then preached a sermon in which he quoted from Psalm 16: 'My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices... You will fill me with joy in your presence.' When he finished, 3000 people were baptized into the Christian faith. As time went on, 'The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.'
"From the record, it would appear the early church was clearly a joy-filled congregation."
"Do Christians really understand what the Joy of the Lord is all about?"
"Nobody really understands the ways of God. Paul admitted, 'Who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?' When we use the expression 'the Joy of the Lord,' I suggest that we think of it as an attribute of the Triune God, but
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not exclusively so. Jesus also taught us to think of His joy as a state of mind and heart that He imparts to us, just as He imparted it to His disciples after His resurrection: 'The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.' "
"Is the joy then a blessing, something we today can actually receive into our own hearts?"
"Definitely. And I would add 'with music!' Jesus ended his greatest parable (Luke 15) with a burst of music. When John saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion (Revelation 14), he heard the sound of harps. I have noticed that musically inclined Christians appear to recognize easily the Joy of the Lord and to feel at home in it. Look for them together: God, music, and joy.
"I remember years ago taking a step toward believing in Jesus just by joining a joyful group singing around a piano. The song?
O the depth of the riches, the riches of love,
The riches of love in Christ Jesus.
Far better than gold or wealth untold
Are the riches of love in Christ Jesus."
"Do we Christians experience much joy in our lives?
"Yes. Terrific joy! Time after time. It depends of course on how well Christ is 'formed in us' spiritually, and how deeply Jesus comes into our lives, and how much His love affects us. The Holy Spirit can and will bring joy, as the gospel teaches us, even during hours of dire tribulation. My friend Robert Munger says it well: 'The New Testament will do what it says it will do.' "
"What is the biggest barrier to joy?"
"I would say it is my own self, M-Y-S-E-L-F. When I set my own agenda, everything else is secondary, including joy. Let me quote from Ulrich Zwingli, the brilliant sixteenth-century
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Swiss Reformer: 'Man increasingly loves himself, seeks to please himself, trusts himself, credits everything to himself, thinks that he sees what is straight and what is crooked, and believes that what he approves everyone ought to approve, even his Creator.' Make no mistake, that is a barrier. It had to come down. It requires unconditional surrender, and once that takes place, joy is often the first thing to break in through the broken barrier."
"How can we have joy despite circumstances?"
"The apostle Pail wrote to the Corinthians, 'In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses... as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing... as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.' It was for the 'joy set before Him' that our Savior Jesus Christ endured the cross.' It is the great Christian secret: a loving joy that overcomes the world and its punishments and predicaments. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and what is more, it can be ours."
"Many people in America feel as though there is nothing to be joyful about. What would you say to these people?"
"I would start with the miracle of our breathing. To inhabit a living body calls for considerable gratefulness and joy. We can thank God for a pumping heart, the circulating blood, the eyes, the ears, the limbs, the fingers. I heard of an old lady who had only two teeth left, but who thanked the Lord every day because they 'hit'.
"At our house there is joy every week when the trash truck comes around, not to speak of the mail truck. When the water system breaks down, there is joy when the plumber arrives. When a neighbor says 'good morning,' and you think of what he could have said, and might well have said, how can you say that there is nothing in America to be joyful about?
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"We can find joy in our children and grandchildren, and in just having friends, the kind of friends who share blessings with us and want to join us in thanking God for those same blessings. Then loving pets can bring us yet a different kind of joy. Further, we should never take for granted the gift of living in a free land for which we can be joyfully grateful.
"Above all, the Bible is an ever-flowing fountain of joy, assuming we know where to look. Make it Number One on your reading list. I once heard Evangelist Mordecai Ham, who preached the sermon that brought Billy Graham to the altar, say with a frowning expression, 'I pick up my paper to see what man has been doing.' He added with a smile, 'Then I pick up my Bible to see what God is going to do.'
"In addition to the Bible, Christian books and films can become highly encouraging sources of joy. But everything will come together in our joyful prayer of thanksgiving to God for His goodness in loving us and saving our souls forever in Christ Jesus."
"What role does prayer play in our having joy?"
"Prayer plays an opening role, particularly the prayer of praise that exalts God and thanks Him for blessings already 'present and accounted for.' The Holy Spirit will use that prayer to start the juices flowing and the smiles smiling. We begin to feel better, not just because of what we have, but because of the goodness of God who gave it to us. There is even joy in the prayer of anticipation that is based on God's loving-kindness and our own hopes."
"What are some examples of Christians whose joy
is evident in their lives?"
"Anyone can compile a list of such examples in history, such
as Francis of Assisi, Lady Julian of Norwich, Brother Lawrence of the
Resurrection, Billy Bray, Corrie ten Boom,
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Mother Teresa, and others lesser known. I could include my own mother, Harriet Eliot Benton Wirt, who taught me to pray and who had a lovely laugh. But I prefer to let the reader compile his or her own list of exemplary joyful Christians— and long may it grow!
"I disqualify myself from this list. Like Augustine, I came late to the Lord, and when I did come it was not in search of love or joy so much as spiritual strength. I felt my sermons were weak; and as for the listeners in the pews, they were already behaving better than I! One day in 1954 I finally sat in a 'victory circle,' took the Bible as God's Word, and declared to God and myself that from that day I was an evangelical believer. There was no response among the angels in heaven; or if there was, I was not informed. Nor did anybody at the time explain to me what Ken Blue says in one of his books, namely, that 'to come to God is to come to joy.' "
"How important is the joy factor in Christian living?"
"It is not for me to say. How important is a smile in the morning? A bouquet at a wedding? A cold glass of water, given in love on a hot day? The psalmist wrote long ago, 'I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You.' How important was the harp?
"Jesus taught His disciple to pray and then added, 'Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.' He doesn't even mention some really important things in our lives — things like our reputations, our long-range ethical goals, our desires to be good citizens and friendly neighbors, even our longing for holiness. Instead he talks about completing our joy! Well, it's about time we realized how importantly the Bible treats it. As Ken Blue rightly says, 'Joy is at the heart of the Christian experience.'
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"If revival comes to the church of God in this new century (and I pray it will), I doubt that it will come with the trappings of power — political, scientific, or religious. But it will certainly come with joy. When it comes, the media may have trouble discerning it and even more reporting it. Marketing experts may search their laptops in vain to locate it. Imagine revival on the Internet! Lord, come quickly!
"Knowing God's sense of humor and His wonderful smile, I half-suspect that His Spirit will bring revival through some highly unlikely people in some unlikely place. The cues for Christians will be the biblical signs of authenticity, such as the cross, repentance, restitution, and love. When it comes, may it turn us all anew to the freshness of the gospel, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the overwhelming joy of the risen Jesus. Hallelujah!"
