It’s that time of year when the Hallmark/Media invasion arrives to entertain us with a myriad of stories of snow, love, and tinsel. Though the plots are predictable and the sap a little deep, these movies offer relief from the hustle, bustle, and bad news for many of us. Like in children’s stories, they all have happy endings, and who doesn’t like a happy ending? I do! But as the advent focus shifted to joy this week, it came to me that while I love happy endings, do I believe in a happy middle? And have I really come to terms that there is a difference between happiness and joy?
I have heard it explained that happiness is based on happenings or circumstances. Since circumstances change consistently, that would indicate that the state of happiness would also change. The scriptures reference happiness in one place, which is in the Beatitudes. The happiness that Christ mentions here results from belonging to Him and the inherited blessings that come with being a child of God. It is not a commentary on our response to our circumstances. Some of us are fortunate to have happy beginnings, but not everyone has a happy start in life. All of us who are in Christ are absolutely guaranteed a “happy ending” in Heaven. But for right now, I am in the middle. My beginning is long in the past, and I have no idea when the end is coming, so I spent some time meditating on the time in between. Did you know that while the Bible refers to abundant eternal life frequently, it also makes a few references to the middle? And when it does, it uses the word joy?
For example, the scripture for today’s blog instructs us to Rejoice in the present tense. It is so important that Paul repeats it twice. Pauls tells us to rejoice in the Lord. He doesn’t say by the Lord, through the Lord, near the Lord, of the Lord or even for the Lord. Paul says, “IN THE LORD!” This is crucial for all of us seeking a joyous middle. I have come to believe that happiness, as I view it, is a distorted perspective when I compare it to what God has designed for me. Happiness can be found temporarily simply because it is temporal in nature. It is like sunny weather. I certainly can enjoy it, but clouds and rain are coming. However, joy is eternal and is IN us. Happiness is outside us. That is why Paul said Rejoice IN the Lord! Joy can only be found IN Christ.
Many times in the day to day life, what I refer to as the middle, my joy dissipates because I am seeking something outside of Christ to bring me joy. Is it wrong for me to pursue happiness? Of course not. As soon as what I seek becomes more of a priority than my fellowship with Christ, I attempt to swap temporary happiness for eternal steadfast joy. If I do this, I only cheat myself. Jesus said in John 15:11. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be IN you and that your joy may be full. I am designed by the Lord to have a fully satisfying life in the middle! I don’t have to wait for Heaven for all the good stuff to arrive.
Rejoicing in the Lord takes commitment. I have to be as Paul said, “In the Lord.”. All in. Not in and out like the Hokey Pokey. All In! All the time. When I commit to Christ fully, I am all in. No matter My circumstances! It is absolutely possible to remain joyous even in grievous situations. I painfully grieved when my Dad died, the last of my nuclear family. I thought the sadness would swallow me. Yet even at his graveside, I rejoiced that he was in Heaven with my mom and brother. But greater still seeing Jesus, who he had trusted and followed. Dad had looked forward to this more and more as he aged. He had joy in the middle until the end came.
Jesus spoke again about my”middle section” in Mark 10. It starts out talking about the divorced( joy robber, for sure). It moves on to remind us how the innocence and trust of a child is necessary to inherit the kingdom. The Rich man” went away sadly” because he couldn’t let go of the wealth that was making him temporarily happy in the middle. This prompted Peter to declare, “we have left everything to follow you!” I believe Peter was wondering if happiness was worth more than joy at this moment, but Jesus assured him.
“Truly, I tell you, no one who has left home or family or fields for me or the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times in this life or in the life to come.” This says there will be a reward now and in the end. Not just financial, though I believe God is faithful to supply all our needs, a joyous, satisfying life between my beginning and my end.
I don’t want anyone reading this to think I don’t believe in happiness because I do. I enjoy it! I just don’t put my trust in it. My trust is in the joy of the Lord. It is steady, constant, unfailing in its ability to hold up against the onslaught of all the circumstances that life in the middle can throw at me. Nehemiah shared that his testimony was that the”Joy of the Lord was his strength” (Neh. 8:10) Because the joy of the Lord is a characteristic of the nature of God. It cannot be separated from Him, any more than His love can be. Happiness is an emotion. It is an indicator of what’s happening around me, but it can not be elevated to the role of dictator. When the angel announced to the shepherds on the hillside that long ago night, it came as tidings of great joy. Christ’s arrival on earth delivered true joy. Happiness was a mere shadow now. Joy was in the person of Jesus, Himself in the flesh, bringing the gift of joy that first Christmas!.
This week I am asking God to increase my sense of joy. This means I must become more aware of Him and His presence and movement in the daily (the middle section). My joy can be stolen if I allow something or someone to move into first place in my life. This time of year, relationships, materialism, and even service for the Lord can challenge my fellowship with Him. While I look forward to the eternal joyous life in Heaven, I pray that my testimony might be that someone might say, “she enjoyed the middle”.
Lord, thank you for giving me a life that has no end, and that makes me joyous. Thank you for the happiness I experience in this life but help me not to settle for happiness when you offer me lasting and full joy.
Please come back next time when we celebrate Christmas, where love saturates every place in the vineyard as the 5 o’clock worker closes out this series and attempts to overcome “The Struggle With Rejection… Finding Love.
5oclockworker.com 