My 100th Post: The Choice to Rejoice

THIS WEEK could easily have been really awful, but it was great.

I was introduced to an initially frustrating concept in my Architecture class, and Photoshop gave me a lot of trouble. I had to walk a long way and got rained on. I was so busy some days that I had to go out to get things printed at 1:30 AM. I lost my key and locked myself out of my building without my phone or my supplies. And on top of it all, I didn't know for most of the week whether I would be too busy to go home for the weekend.

But I'm doing great. I think what made the difference was my Life Group meeting with all my wonderful friends. We discussed the difference between happiness and joy. I had had a pretty bad day and was tired, but I was reminded of something I already knew that really helped: Happiness is a good feeling we get that lasts a little while. But, as one of my friends explained, Joy is choosing to be content because God's unfailing promises remain even while our situations constantly change. We can't be happy all the time, but we can be joyful in any situation. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, so when we make that choice to rejoice in God despite appearances, people take notice and see the difference God makes. It makes people want the hope He gives.

My group looked at 1 Peter 1:8-9, in which Paul explains that tough situations lead to great things when we face them by standing strong in our faith in Christ, "[8] whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, [9] receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls."

That's what got me through this week. Knowing that even the inconvenient things and frustrating problems must happen for some good reason, I was able to remember how beautiful the day was and how good life is. I wasn't worried about anything because I knew it was all going to work together for good (Romans 8:28). And so it did. I got the hang of my project and was able to help some people out with it. I had some good conversations with strangers on a bus. My new friend Erin gave me some beef jerky and flavored nuts. And best of all, I got to go home this weekend and be with my family, which is one of my favorite things to do.

Today I visited my home church Southpoint, where I got to hear my pastor speak about the importance of suffering. He emphasized that God's promises to us are not tools for us to make our plans work out. Because if we decide what God is going to do based on our interpretation of His promises to provide and deliver and fill us with joy, then it's easy to get confused. God is extremely unpredictable, but He is faithful. He keeps all of his promises, and He wants us to expect him to, but it's wrong for us to give up faith in Him because things didn't work out how we expected. He doesn't work for us. He works in and through us.

If your mother dies of cancer after everyone prayed so hard for healing, or if your family is still broken no matter how often you asked for peace, it doesn't mean God has failed. It means it's time for us to look at the big picture and trust that God is faithful. Maybe your mother's healing came when she landed in the arms of Jesus, and maybe peace in your family begins with peace in you. Just don't stop praising.

Pastor Russ referred to 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18, in which Paul explains that all the pain we feel is brief in the grand scheme of God's plan: "[16] Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. [17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and external weight of glory, [18] 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."

No amount of suffering, or of anything else, in life compares to the wonder and beauty of heaven's joy in the presence of God.

So sadness is the opposite of happiness, but it isn't the opposite of joy. I'd say the opposite of joy is despair, because despair is hopeless and fearful. We have the choice to remember Jesus, who said things would be hard but that He would be with us always, and who suffered unimaginably without losing faith in the goodness of God.

Psalm 30:4-5, "[4] Sing praises to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks to His holy name. [5] For His anger is but for a moment, His favor for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

Whether the "night" lasts a day or a lifetime, God promises that He will bring us joy in the end. When we make the choice to rejoice, it doesn't matter what goes wrong, because God won't.