As Jesus was entering into the last days of his life on earth, he prayed for his disciples and for all disciples to come. His petitions were for union with the Father, joy, protection, and usefulness. The sequence of those petitions is significant (John 17.11-17).
Friendship with Christ is the first priority and is basic for the qualities that follow. Out of that intimate, love relationship, joy is a logical consequence. Jesus knew, as he prayed for his disciples, that if they did indeed come into fellowship with him and exhibit the kind of full-fledged joy that he gives, there would be opposition from the world, and so he prayed not that his disciples would be protected from the world or taken out of it into a kind of insulated, holy huddle, but that they would be protected from anything that would destroy that union and joy. Then, out of that dynamic partnership, usefulness would naturally flow.
- Jeanie Miley
Ever since 6th grade, I’ve kept a daily journal. They line one of the shelves here in my dorm room, and from time-to-time I flip through them. Just last week I was reading some material from my high school years, and I couldn’t help but notice how joyful I was. It irked me in a sense. I’ve never been able to put my finger on why the joy has slipped past me nowadays, but it came to me then like a flint being struck in the dark: I’ve wandered from God. Lots of suffering hit me, and it tore at my faith; and while my faith has been re:inspired, re:worked, and (in a sense) re:invented, the intimacy of my union with God is at a low. I am united with God through Christ, but I am not pursuing a deeper and more enriching union with Him. It is through this union that true joy—the kind of joy that brings laughter in sorrow and smiles during suffering—is experienced.
Yet something tugs at my mind: “How is joy formed?” Joy is the result of brain chemicals reaching high levels of influence. Thus “joy” is biological. I’ve struggled with how union with God brings joy if joy is a biological function. Two theories: there is a joy that is caused biologically in the natural realm, and a similar yet greater joy that is caused by God in the supra-natural realm, and it is this “mysterious joy” that Christians experience. Or, Christians experience a biological joy as God personally tweaks our brain chemicals. Hmmm… Okay, done with that tangent… Jeanie Miley continues:
…The more I know Him, the more I experience that deep inner well of joy that is not dependent on external circumstances. This joy is present even in the midst of suffering and sorrow; it is a motivating power even in discouragement and dismay.
My life sometimes seems like a constant theatrical play of discouragement and dismay, of suffering and sorrow, of external circumstances gone wrong. All of this oftentimes leads me into a deep depression marked with hopelessness, despair, and feelings of futility. The idea of joy, tranquility, and happiness seems to be a far-fetched illusion; the “pursuit of happiness” becomes an unreachable mirage, functioning only to keep us moving in futile hope towards a resolution that doesn’t exist.
But what if I can experience joy despite all that’s going on?
What if I can experience tranquility in the midst of adversity?
What if I can experience happiness in a life marked with emotional heartache?
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