Joy Emerges from the Refinery of Adversity

When I was a boy, we could always find Joy in our home. But I don’t mean the exhilarating human emotion. I’m talking about the liquid dishwashing detergent, the one that promised, “From grease to shine in half the time.”  

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then – hardly anyone did – so I guess people tried to find joy in the task any way they could. Maybe that’s why Proctor & Gamble introduced the product in 1949 – literally to put Joy in dishwashing. But unless going from grease to shine as quickly as possible is your passion, washing dishes isn’t where I’d expect to find much joy.

Curiously, Joy was a major sponsor for soap operas like “Search for Tomorrow.” If you’ve ever watched a soap opera, you know joy doesn’t figure prominently in many of the scripts. Anger, angst, fear, frustration, envy, jealousy, disappointment, and despair? Of course. But joy? Not so much.

 

What exactly is joy? And how do we achieve it? 

 

For starters, joy isn’t synonymous with happiness. I might feel happy when something nice or fun happens to me. Because happiness and happenings are tightly intertwined. Take football games, for example. Fans experience happiness when their team scores. They’re all smiles, high-fiving, clapping and cheering. But that sense of jubilation quickly fades when the opposing team returns the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

 

Joy is different. It’s an inner quality that endures despite external circumstances. In fact, the most difficult situations can result in the greatest joy. This is why the apostle James started his letter with this admonition: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

 

Note that James didn’t direct his readers to be happy. God doesn’t command a happy response when we receive a scary health diagnosis, encounter financial struggles, lose a job, or fail to receive the expected promotion. When a relationship with a beloved family member or close friend is broken, “Don’t Worry. Be Happy” probably isn’t the song that comes to mind.

 

Instead, the apostle exhorts us to regard it as “pure joy” when adversity becomes an ever-present companion. James clearly isn’t talking about happiness.

 

He and another apostle, Paul, concurred. Writing to believers in ancient Rome, Paul offered a similar perspective. He said, “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).

 

We’re to “rejoice,” Paul declared. In other words, to find joy in the midst of suffering. But how?

 

I remember my friend Dave, who early in his walk with Christ would often confide his struggles with his mentor. That mentor, also named Dave, would listen attentively, then smile and respond, “Dave, you’re in a great position.” In view of his challenges, my friend Dave didn’t regard those as being in “a great position.” But over time he came to understand what his mentor meant.

 

There’s a saying that “the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire.” This isn’t a simplistic aphorism. In terms of metallurgy, heating metal up to high temperatures promotes necessary chemical reactions that transform iron into steel. Similarly, the fires of adversity and suffering can prove beneficial by forging resilient spiritual qualities such as perseverance, character, hope, unwavering faith – and joy.

 

We have no greater example of this seeming paradox than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Hebrews 12:2-3 points to Him: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3). This says Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before Him.” Wow!

 

The night before, when He would be betrayed, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane, taking with Him the disciples Peter, James and John. We’re told, “He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…” (Matthew 26:37-38). You don’t have to read between the lines to recognize that happiness wasn’t an emotion Jesus was experiencing.

 

Joy, however, prevailed. In spite of false accusations, brutal torture, being forced to Golgotha, and then experiencing the most horrific form of execution, Jesus’ joy was undiminished. Because He was fulfilling His ultimate mission: To become the atoning sacrifice for the sins – yours and mine, and countless others who would place their faith in Him. In ways we can’t humanly comprehend, all that Jesus went through was entirely worth it.

 

Someone reading this might be thinking, ‘I get it. Happiness isn’t the same as joy. But what if I can’t seem to find joy either? I had it once, but seem to have lost it.' In that case I’d recommend adopting the prayer of King David who, devastated by the guilt of his sins with Bathsheba, was desperate to be restored to a right relationship with God.

 

David prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12).

 

As we discover in reading the rest of David’s life, God heard and answered his prayer. Spiritually cast in the refining fire, he emerged stronger and more faithful than ever. The Lord will do the same for you and me as well, if we sincerely seek Him.

Offering a Cure for the Proud, Petulant and Pouting

In my last post, I addressed how God can take His children going through times of brokenness and employ His own divine “Kintsugi” repair program. We don’t like the process of becoming broken, but it’s a part of the Lord’s plan for each one of us, shaping and molding us into the people He intends for us to become. And He often fills in the broken places and cracks with “glue” more precious than gold or silver.

I thought I’d revisit this briefly because it raises a good question: Why is brokenness so important to God?

For an answer, we can consider an excellent biblical example – Jonah in the Old Testament. Nestled between the books of Obadiah and Micah, the story of Jonah is a curious one. In that short book we read about the Lord’s call for Jonah to go to the prosperous, pagan city of Nineveh, inhabited by the Assyrians. He becomes the most reluctant of prophets, first attempting to flee in the opposite direction to Tarshish, spurning the call to lead a revival among the Ninevites.

Illustration courtesy of ChristArt.com

God foils his flight by sending a severe storm on his Tarshish-bound ship. This results in Jonah being tossed overboard but, instead of drowning, being swallowed by a huge fish that became his “home” for three days and three nights.

Humbled and broken, helpless to change his circumstances, Jonah utters a prayer of repentance: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry…. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple…. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord” (Jonah 2:2-9).

Alas, we quickly discover that even after times of brokenness, we often fall back on our attempts to fix ourselves. The huge fish spits Jonah out and he does go to Nineveh with his message, “Repent. The end is near.” To his dismay, the despised Ninevites, led by their king, humble themselves and confess their sins, turning back to God. Jonah becomes a petulant prophet, pouting because of God’s compassion.

“O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity" (Jonah 4:2).

Apparently the prophet thought it was all right for him to turn back to God in repentance, but for a huge city of people he hated – not so much. It seems more breaking was in order for Jonah.

This is a cautionary tale for us all. Perhaps you, as it was for me, discovered your desperate need for God during a time of feeling broken and helpless. It’s often said, when there’s nowhere else to turn, look up. However, we remain a headstrong people and quickly can forget all the Lord has done for us. 

When the chaos has turned to calm, we recapture our smug, “I can do it myself” attitude. More than once, perhaps not in so many words, I’ve thought, “Thanks, Lord. I’ll take it from here. If I need any more help, I’ll let you know.” When we take that attitude, God politely removes His hand of protection and waits. “Let Me know how that works for you, My child!”

For a time things might go smoothly, but then we find ourselves back at the end of our self-sufficiency. So we have to enroll in the School of Brokenness again. And again. And again.

Thankfully, as Jonah said, we worship and serve a God who is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” When we again declare our independence and spurn the Lord’s kind offers to intervene, He’ll let us return to brokenness school for a refresher course. 

Some of us are slow to learn, but our God is a patient teacher. When we finally reach a point of surrender, as King David did in the following prayer, He’s ready to welcome His “students” with open arms of grace and mercy:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit.”

         – Psalm 51:10-12