I was walking my dog through our neighborhood yesterday, and met the most interesting man. I greeted him like I greet every other person I walk by on the sidewalk, and he proceeded to give me a story that did not match his countenance. His face was so peaceful and happy, and as he spoke, he smiled and laughed. He told me of how 15 years ago he had a motorcycle accident which left him in assisted care, where he lives now. Obviously dealing with a brain injury, he could no longer live without care. The way he told me this story, though, caught me off guard because he had so much joy. He emphasized the positives—he was able to live off insurance and retirement for the last 15 years, enjoying his walks and moving here from Florida. The man spoke as if he was a complete success and had won at life!
I thought about my interaction with him the rest of the walk. I know this man has some brain complications from his wreck, but he has chosen to look for the joy in a life that would seem like a failure or like a miss to a lot of the world. He was content, and had no reason to complain. How often do I look at my situation and find joy, regardless of how it looks to others?
In Philippians, Paul talks often about joy, and this also seems rather ironic since he was in prison at the time with no release date in sight. He was able to find joy in the middle of circumstances that seemed less than ideal. It sure does make me mad, though, when I am complaining about my own difficulty and someone asks me where the joy is in it. I feel that it is trite and rather dismissive of my pain when it is suggested that I should be rising above it to find joy.
But what I’m realizing more and more is that the joy isn’t found IN the problem. It’s not like we are supposed to really enjoy the pain and the issue at hand. That’s just denial. I think the joy that Paul found no matter what his circumstance was the joy in Jesus. He saw past the problem to knowing Jesus through it, and rejoiced!
I believe the purpose of this life is not to avoid all unpleasant things and only live in comfort. Sometimes I wish it was! But I think, instead, the purpose is to know Jesus, and to grow deeper in relationship with Him. If that’s the point, then any trials or tribulations are just catalysts for me to know Him. They can’t defeat me because they push me to Him.
This doesn’t mean there will be no pain. Emotion is present in all of these hard things—sadness, anger, overwhelm. But when I look past whatever is in front of me to look at Jesus, only He is in focus and the rest of it kind of fades to the background. It doesn’t leave entirely, and I still have to walk through whatever it is, but He is present and my focus to get through it.
In Philippians 3:1a, Paul says: My beloved ones, don’t ever limit your joy or fail to rejoice in the wonderful experience of knowing our Lord Jesus!
We are the ones who limit our joy. I’ll say that again because it took me a minute to absorb it. We are the ones who limit our joy. We like to blame our lack of joy on miserable people around us, on the way we’ve been treated, on the absence of whatever it is that we think we should possess to have joy. But Paul is saying that we are the ones who put limits on this joy, not another person or a circumstance.
How do we limit this? By assuming we have to generate it! Or by thinking our circumstances have to line up with what we believe will create joy in us.
We are to boast in what Christ has done, not in our own strength. We are to recognize that any joy that comes is a result of being in Christ, not because we really enjoy whatever is going on around us.
I would equate this to a couple in love. So many horrible things could be going on around them, and they just stare into each others’ eyes and lose any sense of time or problem. Their focus is the one that they love, and all else fades in importance.
When I can look deeply into the eyes of the One who loves me, who is obsessed with me and is waiting for me to look to Him, all else fades in importance and I start to experience joy. Joy radiates from Jesus, and when I’m looking at Him, I am radiating it as well. No matter the problem, I can have joy because I don’t limit it to a circumstance, but see joy in the One who delights in me and desires only relationship with me.
Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him. Psalms 34:8