There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too is meaningless. So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then, joy will accompany life in all its work throughout all its days God has given under the sun. ~Ecclesiastes 8:14-15
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ~Galatians 6:9-10
Slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he or she does whether slave or free. ~Ephesians 6:5-8
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ~Colossians 3:23-24
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~Ephesians 2:10
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 began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 1:5-6
Nehemiah said: “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ~Nehemiah 8:10
Okay, come on now, sing along! “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart! Down in my heart, down in my heart! I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart to stay!”
Have you ever considered how important Spirituals were to the slaves before the Civil War? Those songs were helpful in passing along messages and alerting the other slaves to important activities such as midnight prayer meetings. They also enabled the slaves to endure hardship, especially the harsh treatment from those over them. It’s not because they were simple minded that music helped them to cope, it is because they were wise in dealing with a manmade hell on earth. They found a way to turn their suffering into an opportunity to praise God anyway.
It would appear that God has prescribed joy as the tool to enable us to endure. Paul says, “”Rejoice in the Lore always. I will say it again, Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4) “Easy for him to say,” we may quip, until we remember that Paul was writing this from a Roman jail. The Philippians would know that Paul practices what he preaches, since he and Silas were prisoners in their local jail but singing instead of grousing about it. Then an earthquake set them free and set off a series of events that led one of their own, the jailer!, to faith. (Acts 16:16-30)
It’s not that Paul was masochistic. Nor had he developed a “devil may care” attitude about life. It’s wasn’t that he always “felt” happy. He had discovered the “secret of being content,” (Phil. 4:12), to practice joy in all circumstances. This is a tough sell, especially for us westerners today who are so used to being led around by our feelings.
It is hard to do the right thing when we would rather sulk. It is hard to do the right thing when we don’t like the other person and would rather not bother. It is hard to do the right thing when we don’t respect or appreciate the one over us and we would rather rebel and walk away feeling justified. Those are all feeling responses to what may be difficult situations, but Paul, and Solomon are saying, master your feelings and choose joy anyway.
Solomon starts out by saying, sometimes life isn’t fair. The righteous get treated badly and the wicked seem to be problem free. But consider, did you eat today? Do you have friends? “So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then, joy will accompany life in all its work throughout all its days God has given under the sun.”
You are wasting your life and robbing yourself of God’s joy if you choose to nurse a grudge until someone else is punished for what you think they deserve. Choose to put on joy because of what you still have despite what their lives appear to be. In work, so many people start and quit jobs looking for that perfect situation. In truth, however, if you are a Christian, God is your employer, not the one who signs your paycheck. Choose joy because you are working for Him really, not your earthly employer in the seen world.
You may be in your position as a witness to God’s glory. Joy will certainly make God more attractive than bitterness. You are a work of God your creator. He felt joy as He created you and He wants you to demonstrate the passing on of His joy as you do what He created you to do. Since He is not only your creator, but also your true boss, choose joy as you work for Him, recognizing the hard times as His refining process to make you even better for Him.
Remember those spirituals that we mentioned at the beginning? If you read the words to some of them, you will notice that they didn’t sing about their poblems. They didn’t sing about avenging themselves in a very harsh and unjust situation. They focused on their hope in God, their deliverer and proved to be a resilient people as a result. Joy is not necessarily a feeling. You may feel happy in your joy, but joy is more of a confidence than a feeling. It’s remembering that God is in control, always, no matter what.
Allow me to share a personal example here. We’re all aware of what is going on in our country at present. Ahead of us, there is an election that, from many reports, doesn’t sound like is will resolve soon or solve anything. When we begin to get stressed about the future and how we hope it will go, recognizing that it may go badly, Kathy and I have begun saying a very simple phrase that really brings us peace and helps us to recenter on our joy in Christ no matter what.
That simple phrase is, “But God.” No matter how things look, no matter how things turn out, from our perspective, God is still in control. No matter what happens, “But God…!” And His last chapter has not yet been written. Our phrase is a short reminder of these truths and more: Everything else may go against us, but God is for us! We may feel lonely and afraid, but God is with us! We may have sinned and lost our way, but God is faithful! We are weak, but God is strong! Not my will, but God’s!
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to walk on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:17-19 “But GOD!”
Prayer: Father, You are the source of life and joy! I choose to trust you no matter what and place my confidence in Your loving care. That brings me peace and joy. May my attitude be contagious so that others find their joy in You too, in Jesus’ name, amen,
Song: Joy
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