Receiving God's Joy in Our Sorrow // It's Time to Start Enjoying Your Life, Part 2

We tend to think of joy and sorrow as being opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. But God – God has this thing where He wants to pour His joy, into our sorrow..

 

A Letter of Some Friends

Last week on the programme we began a new series called, “It’s Time to Start Enjoying My Life”. Look around, the joy in this world seems to be in such very short supply and yet "joy" is something that Jesus, so much, wants us to experience. Not the joy that the world has to offer; not some short term happiness fix – not that – real joy; abiding joy; lasting joy.

You can read what Jesus said about "joy" in John chapter 15 and verse 11. This is a time when the disciples were afraid because Jesus was about to be crucified – they knew it. Everything was falling in a screaming heap. And look at what Jesus talks about. He says:

I have said all these things to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Isn’t that awesome?

So that My joy (Jesus joy) may be in us and that our joy might be complete.

The problem is that, well, that can be really, really hard to swallow. I receive so many emails from people who are struggling in life. One man in Africa, he belongs to one tribe and his wife to another and her family are trying to tear the marriage apart.

I had an email from a woman the other day who has had so many people in her life disappoint her and fail her. There are so many people living life in circumstances that, well in the natural; in our flesh, they don’t warrant joy. Joy and sorrow after all, are at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

How dare some joker come on the radio and start talking about joy? "If he only knew my circumstances. How can he say that God wants me to experience joy? What a load of rubbish!" Well, that’s a common reaction. If you are struggling with things in your life at the moment, it’s not a surprising reaction. You are not on your own. Okay, then, let me as you a question. If God meant us to wallow in sorrow why is it that Jesus said:

Until now you haven’t ask for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.

You can read that – if you have a Bible, open it up – that came from John chapter 16, verse 22.

See God never meant us to live life in despair. If He did, why would the Bible say this:

Even though you haven’t seen Him with your own eyes, you love Him and even though you don’t see Him now, you believe in Him and you are filled with an unspeakable and glorious joy because you are receiving the goal of your faith which is the salvation of your soul.

That comes from First Peter chapter 1, verse 8. Or Psalm 33:

Sing to Him a new song, play skilfully and shout for joy.

No, God means us to live in His joy and so often He calls us to joy when our lives and circumstances demand sorrow.

It’s a bitter sweet irony and today and the next couple of weeks we are going to spend some time with a man on death row. A man locked in a dungeon in chains under the sentence of death; a man who, if anyone did, deserved to wallow in sorrow.

His name is Paul and he opens his letter to his friends with this mournful and sorrowful words. Have a listen – it comes from Philippians chapter 1, verses 1 to 11:

Paul and Timothy, both servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and the deacons. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this: that He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It’s right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart. For whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the Gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Jesus Christ and this is my prayer: that your love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God.”

Does that sound like a guy who is on death row; in a dungeon? Look how he starts: “I thank my God” – he begins with thanksgiving. And then he says “I always pray