Joy

Listen to Joy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-8EoJFmxc

"It is the calm water
In the middle of an anxious sea.
Where heavy clouds part and the sunrise starts
A fire in the deepest part of me.

So I let go and in this moment, I can breathe."

At this point, what would you guess these lyrics are describing? 

They're from the song "Joy" by Sleeping at Last and, in my opinion, they do a great job summarizing what joy is. Because joy is hard to describe, we know we're commanded to be joyful, we know it's a Fruit of The Spirit, we know it lasts longer than happiness, but the comparisons the song makes gives us a good picture of what joy is like. That first verse mentioned calm water in the middle of an anxious sea, which is a great way to describe joy in my busy life. The feeling of joy seems to calm everything around me down. 

 "A silver lining spilling over,

The rumor of buried treasure,
The starting line of an adventure,
It's a glimpse of light in a mine of gold."

All of these are metaphors that the song gives for joy. My favorite is a glimpse of light in a mine of gold. Picture that. Imagine a mine. A gold mine. Deep down in the earth. Cold. So dark you don't even have hope of seeing anything until you approach the surface again. No light. Complete blackness envelops you, so thick it almost seems tangible.

 And then someone strikes a match.

 All of a sudden the whole room sparkles, the light is reflected from every point in the room and everything shines. The darkness disappears because of that glimpse of light.

 Joy is that glimpse of light in a gold mine. Joy is the feeling you get when you receive a 100% on your hardest test, when you and your family are laughing about something amazing that just happened, when you're so happy you want to burst. Joy can transform the darkest day into the best, put a positive spin on anything, and light up a room. And yet, joy can be quiet as well. We can't always laugh, hard times do hit us, and we don't always feel amazing or positive. Joy doesn’t mean always being happy, or always smiling, or always shouting to the world in exuberance. It can be the quiet pleasure of realizing God is in control and every moment is for Hs glory. We have hope in God’s grace and power to give us joy even when we don't feel like it. And that joy doesn't disappear.

 "It's the brightest sparks that we remember.

When our eyes are closed, we still see embers"

 Joy is lasting, something we can always feel the effects from. We can always let go of our burdens and sorrows and get a glimpse of joy. And in that moment we can breathe. Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." We are commanded to have joy. Even when we don't feel like we can be joyful, God can give us the strength to rejoice. Ephesians 3:20 says, "“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Lasting joy is supplied by God, who has the power to accomplish more in us than we could even ask for. It is possible to be joyful always. The command "rejoice in the Lord always" is not a burden, it's a gift and a blessing because God makes us able to rejoice. So that when our eyes are closed, we still see embers of joy that brighten our lives. 

Don't let go of joy. Seek it, ask for it, find it. Be joyful and spread joy, because people will look at you rejoicing and be inspired by it. Joy will give you calm in the middle of your anxious times. Our life is a gold mine, and joy provides the light that illuminates every part of it.