JOY! (Post 112)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2018

Post 112

JOY!
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, God of love;

Joys are flowing like a river since the Comforter has come; 

The Joy of the Lord is my strength; 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come …

JOY!  We see and hear this word often during the weeks before Christmas:  crocheted on pillows,  large-letters on fireplace mantles, expressions in cards, spoken within sermons, and today – the third Sunday of Advent – proclaimed while a candle (pink usually) is lit. During the four weeks approaching December 25, Christian worship centers upon the concepts of HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE in preparation for the birth of Jesus, the Christ … the Promised Messiah. 

Within past GRM Blog Posts, I have spoken much about HOPE but hardly at all about JOY.  I preached on joy this morning and would like to share some thoughts on this very topic.

If the question were asked:  what is JOY OR  define JOY … we may hear “happiness”  as an immediate answer.  Other replies might be “excitement”  OR  “thrilling”.   However, none of these were in the above song lines.  I thought, also, of other expressions such as exhilaration, delight, intense pleasure, elation. 

As I take another look at this list, it appears to me that they describe more of a surface response to something very positive – a special happening on a human level … nothing wrong with that – as long as it’s a healthy situation, of course!  A person wins an award, attains recognition, experiences a particularly happy event, receives a gift … happy situations, indeed. 

But let’s dig deeper … with JOY.  The late Henri Nouwen, theologian and priest, speaks of JOY in his book entitled, Bread for the Journey and he places this article under the title of  “Choosing Joy”.  To be sure, humans do not react to the same circumstances in the same way: a comedy may not be perceived as humorous; a compliment could be taken as a slight; disappointing turns in a relationship bring a sense of freedom.  One response may be devastation while another looks deeper and asks, God, where are You in this? What is Your plan for me now?   

With the assurance that God knows each one of us completely and intimately,  JOY comes from our holding on to God’s promise of  His divine presence that will accompany us, no matter what.

God knows us through and through: God knows our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and our spirits … and still, God loves us through and through.  God WILL NOT leave us alone – though we may feel differently.  JOY then, comes to us – and becomes a living part of us – when  we openly receive the peace God is offering in order for us to accept and respond, in trust, to God’s wisdom and divine plan for us. 

JOY is found in what I’ll call our “heart-memories”  … our recall of times when we know that we know  that God spoke to us … when, by divine mystery, God lifted the veil between heaven and earth - and we experienced a glory that could never be explained in human terms.  JOY reassures that the divine is real - and the Risen Christ is present  for  us. 

It is at those times and circumstances when we can meet Christ in our midst – in sickness, in health, in sorrow, in normal everyday times.  Practicing the presence of God anytime – anywhere, ushers in the divine – and the depth of God’s nearness, care, love, strength, and peace.   IT  IS JOY when we behold and recognize this!!

There is still another aspect of JOY:  I have read true-life accounts and spoken with persons who have experienced unthinkably sad, unfair, and/or devastating tragedy.  Yet these folks, as well, have encountered God in unexpected, empowering, and even miraculous ways.  To hear their stories and to see the expressions on their faces of peace and joy re-presents the work of God within human life.       

If we regard JOY as a gifted presence of the divine in our individual lives, then, is it not wondrous that the Triune God: Father/Son/Holy Spirit also experiences JOY when we do?!!   

Think of this:  when JOY comes to us through a recalling of a heart-memory  OR  a present happening, God is sharing this same JOY with us!  In other words, we are at-one with God.  We are experiencing the same  JOY together!

Recall … Recognize … Reveal!

JOY comes when we recall and recognize God;

and

JOY comes when we experience God’s revealing God’s JOY with  us!

May you experience the true blessings of joy: God-with-us!

Rev. Janet Jacobs, CCGSO
Founding Director
Gambling Recovery Ministries
https://www.grmumc.org/

For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues, visit:
                                                                                                                                                       

www.indianaproblemgambling.org
www.ipgap.indiana.edu
www.mdproblemgambling.com
www.gamblersanonymous.org
www.gam-anon.org
www.kycpg.org
www.pgnohio.org
www.calproblemgambling.org
www.christsd.com
www.masscompulsivegambling.org
www.mentalhealthministries.net  

Posted by Gambling Recovery Ministries at 5:57 PM

2018Scott Jacobs