I have so much in my life for which to be joyful: I have an incredible family that supports me, I have amazing friends that thankfully both encourage and challenge me, I live in community with a group of believers with whom I try to walk out the gospel, and I get to spend my time doing things that truly bring me joy. Although I have so many perfectly good reasons to be joyful, I have been forced lately to inspect very carefully from where my joy actually comes. As the end of this season in Costa Rica is ending it has been very challenging, mentally, to prepare myself for the transition to come; to say that directly moving from Alajuelita to a college campus will be a radical culture shock is a gross understatement. I will be losing the security I have come to find in the community of 6:8, my Costa Rican friends, my church family of Celebración, and in the things I do here in Alajuelita. The fact that all of these things bring me so much happiness and joy is not an inherently bad thing. I get to see GOD work in miraculous ways through all of those things, blessing others and blessing me in the process. However, it is if my true source of joy lies in my circumstances and not in Christ that there is a problem. And I am not entirely sure that is the case.
While I was home I was having a bible study with my friends Mike and Anton on the final instructions Paul gives to the Thessalonians. Paul urges with simple and direct commands: “Rejoice always (other versions say ‘Be joyful always”), pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). Be joyful always. WOW! More than being difficult, that seems more like impossible to me. I have already experienced times here that have been less than joyful. Circumstances here are often incredibly difficult and there are periods of time when it appears to be one thing after another bringing me down until finally the cloud is lifted. During those times, which last as long as the difficult situations do, my life is far from completely devoid of joy. But when someone I love falls back into drugs, or is suffering, or there is so much pain out of my control, I struggle to be joyful and find joy in those situations. From where does my joy come? I want to be so full of joy from the Holy Spirit that all of the circumstances, the situations, the people, the events that bring me happiness in my life only serve to increase the already overflowing joy. I want a constant joy to spring from waking up once again in the morning to the sun shining in my window, from acknowledging that I am a precious daughter of the Creator of the universe, from accepting the fact that despite my sin and my brokenness I have received salvation through Jesus Christ, and from focusing on the very character of our good, faithful, loving, just, and perfect GOD. If I truly rejoice always because of those things it does not matter where I am, what I am doing, or who I am with. Those things change, but the basis of my joy will not!
I want to be careful about how this is presented. I do not mean to say that we should become so disconnected from the world that we cannot identify with the sufferings of others and “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15) as the Bible instructs us. Nor do I think it is wrong to question and struggle with GOD when difficulties come in our own lives or in the lives of others. I can be heartbroken because a dear friend is struggling with addiction and I can be crying out to GOD to be merciful and perform a miracle in his/her life while still rejoicing in the truths that will never change. I can be questioning a trial that I am going through and still find joy in the fact that GOD has already won the battle although I cannot see that far ahead. Even when everything is changing and going crazy around me I want to strive to look to GOD for my joy. In Him, and only in Him will I find that joy that never fails.
