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It’s What You Are That Counts #3

Down But Not Out

Picture in your mind’s eye, if you would, a man struggling to remain conscious. He’s been beaten so badly, he’s hardly recognizable, even by his friends. He stands, swaying dizzily, in the center of swirling confusion. His eyes strain to focus, to pull order out of the blur of activity surrounding him. Angry, jeering voices shout close to his face. Suddenly, a figure from the sidelines grabs him, spins him, slaps him and strips him. Naked and bleeding, he’s pushed off balance to the rocky ground, then pulled sideways and onto rough, splintery timbers, his arms stretched wide and held. A spike is positioned at the wrist, a hammer is raised. But now we have to stop our imagining. We can’t bear to look anymore.

It’s almost impossible for us to think of the scene I’ve just described, which is, of course, the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet years later the author of the biblical book of Hebrews wrote that we should keep “our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom faith depends from start to finish: Jesus who, for the sake of the joy that lay ahead of him, endured the cross, making light of its disgrace, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Think of him who submitted to such opposition from sinners: that will help you not to lose heart and grow faint” (Hebrews 12: 2-3 NEB).

What can the verse possibly mean, “…who for the joy that lay ahead of Him”? What kind of joy is this?

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, angels announced His birth to shepherds on the hillsides by declaring that they were heralds of great joy. I can understand that the Savior’s birth would be something to be joyful about, but His crucifixion? How, by any stretch of the imagination, could that be joyful?

Have you ever played word association games? If I were to say the word joy, you would probably think happiness. But joy and happiness don’t necessarily mean the same thing. At least the Bible doesn’t use the words in the same way.

You see, some things make us happy and some things make us unhappy. Happiness comes and goes depending on the circumstances. We’re happy when we get a promotion, but we’re unhappy when a friend is sick. We’re happy when our team wins the game, but we’re unhappy when the car has a flat tire.

On the other hand, joy goes much deeper. Joy doesn’t depend upon what’s happening to us, it’s something we have deep inside in spite of circumstances. Do you see the difference? Happiness is because of. Joy is in spite of.

When things are going good in our lives, we may mistake our happiness for joy. Which is okay, as far as it goes. But sooner or later life has a way of throwing us a curve, and then our warm, fuzzy feeling we called happiness begins to evaporate. But no matter what comes our way, we can always have joy and hope. Isn’t that what we really want? Let’s discover how that can happen.

Listen to this text in James 1, verses 2 and 3: “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (NKJ).

Did you notice that this text puts joy, trials, faith, and patience in the same sentence? How did the word trials get in there? It reminds me of the test questions they give in school, “What word doesn’t belong in this series of words?”

But that’s the way real life is. As they say, into each life some rain must fall. But they also say that every cloud has a silver lining. With God’s help, trials can feed our joy and hardships can strengthen our faith. The bluebird of happiness may be here today and gone tomorrow, but joy sends down roots and grows like a tree that produces the Fruit of the Spirit. It grows out of a new perspective, a different way of looking at life. Joy is not because of but in spite of.

We’ll have joy and hope when through faith we catch a glimpse of God’s long-term purpose, even though there may be little or no short-term relief. In other words, joy sees beyond today, into forever. Joy is being content to believe that God has a purpose for our life without our necessarily understanding His methods or timetable.

The Bible speaks of hope and joy almost interchangeably and ties them both to the future. Listen to these words of hope and joy found in 1 Peter 1:6-7: “This is cause for great joy, even though now you smart for a little while, if need be, under trials of many kinds. Even gold passes through the assayer’s fire, and more precious than perishable gold is faith which has stood the test. These trials come so that your faith may prove itself worthy of all praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” ( NEB).

When hard times come to us, it’s a temptation to focus only on the here and now and lose sight of the eternal. Yet, it was the sight of the eternal that was the key to the great joy of the apostles. Do you realize that, according to tradition, eleven of them died as martyrs, with only John closing his eyes in natural death? And even he was banished to a lonely island for his last years.

But Paul, speaking for all the apostles, wrote, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18 NKJV).

Earlier in Chapter 4, verses 8 and 9 of II Corinthians, Paul states “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living” (New Century Version).

It’s evident that Paul was no suffering saint, merely moping through life. Rather, he was a joyful, exuberant, vital child of God who couldn’t be stopped by kings, priests, jails, or beating. He was a man overtaken by the joy of God’s presence.

Recent archaeological discoveries have uncovered letters written by martyrs during the first three trying centuries following the ascension of Christ. Just before his death, one saint penned these words, “In a dark hole I have found cheerfulness; in a place of bitterness I have found laughter, where others fear, I have found strength. Who would believe that in a state of misery I have had great pleasure; that in a lonely corner I have had glorious company, and in the hardest bonds perfect repose. All these things Jesus has granted me. He is with me, comforts me, and fills with joy. He drives bitterness from me and fills me with strength and consolation.” What an expression of heart-felt joy.

On one occasion I visited the Mamertine prison where Paul was confined just before his martyrdom. The walls are cold, rough rocks; the dungeon is so damp you feel chilled on the warmest day. Only a tiny hole lets in light and air. The ceiling is so low I couldn’t stand up straight, and the tiny cell seemed to close in on me. Paul stayed in there for at least two years, and from here he wrote his last great epistle, II Timothy.

As we read this letter to Timothy, written from that miserable place, we note that there’s not a word of melancholy; rather, it’s shot through with triumphant rejoicing. Paul concludes his writing with these words of joyful assurance: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith: Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day” (II Timothy 4:7, 8 NKJV).
Here is a joy in spite of trouble, miserable circumstances, and approaching death. Paul doesn’t speak of little bursts of joy or moments when joy slips up on us, but rather of a lasting, ever abiding, enduring exultation of spirit.

Maybe, even as you listen today, you’re passing through circumstances that are difficult, even painful. It may be illness or the recent loss of a loved one. Friend, you’re not alone. As Jesus was passing through the most agonizing time of His life, even His friends abandoned Him. Yet for the joy, the hope, that was set before Him, He suffered the cross and endured the pain.

The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV). It would be impossible to “rejoice always” if it weren’t for those other three key words, “in the Lord.” We don’t get all thrilled and happy because we’re having hardship. That attitude would be not only unrealistic, it would be unhealthy. Our encouragement, our hope, our joy, is in the Lord. The joy experienced by God’s people throughout the centuries didn’t make the pain or the suffering and hardship go away. But because joy is the result of faith and hope, it gave them strength to bear whatever happened to them.

What concerns are you carrying today that need to be handed over to the God who loves you? Why not pray this little prayer, “Lord, I want to exchange my worries for Your joy. Thank You for promising me joy as a Fruit of the Spirit.”