Down in My Heart

“The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy; my soul shall dive therein…”—Charles Haddon Spurgeon

What do we do with the word "joy"? There must be something important and good about it in God’s eyes because joy is mentioned more than 200 times in some translations of the Bible.

But well-meaning Sunday School teachers and authors down through the years have made it sound like joyful Christians are to be serious-faced about God’s joy, and have said not to confuse natural happiness with joy because happiness is a fleeting emotion—it comes and goes. Only joy lasts. On that last point, there is Truth. But on the whole, this handed-down teaching needs revisiting because the root words for joy in both the Hebrew and Greek do not imply serious-faced expressions and lifestyles at all, but instead speak of an inner happiness or gladness that cannot be contained or deterred. 

And if you’ve experienced that kind of joy, you can’t really explain it, but you know it's true.

It’s better than the fleeting joyful feeling of getting a new car or going on vacation because God’s joy (or, joy in God), is rooted in knowing that no matter the ups and downs of life, if you have Jesus, you have everything, and He will never abandon you and He loves you through the ecstasies as well as the hells of life. And most of all, because unlike any other god, our God is not dead but fully alive and reigning still and forever over this crazy world in ways that are totally beyond our imagination or understanding. And not only that, He is interceding—praying—for us all…the… time. (Hebrews 7:25).

And oh yes, His joy is unspeakable because unlike that new car, He never rusts or breaks down, and unlike that vakay, you never need a reservation to be with Him.

And that’s only a glimmer of what joy in the Lord looks like. Or, it’s about all our (my) feeble brains can handle at one time. But somehow you know and believe that there is so much more depth, width and height to the kind of happy joy God is talking about. I’m thinking of that campfire song right about now: “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where?…” Deep down. Just as Spurgeon says.

I was thinking about that when putting up the tree yesterday, and of all the lights and shiny objects, one three-letter word (pictured) was magnified….

Remember, the Word shouts: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say rejoice!”

But look at our world—there isn’t much to rejoice about. Joy to the world? Really?

And what about all the hurts and pains that have somehow concentrated in Decembers past? Joy to the world? Really?

The Word shouts louder: Remember to live each day not through your lens but through Heaven’s lens. Remember…

“Be full of joy always

Because you belong to the Lord!

Again I say, be full of joy!

And let all people see how considerate, compassionate, unselfish you are.

The Lord is coming again soon!

Do not worry.

Learn to pray about everything.

Give thanks to God as you ask Him for what you need.

The peace of God is much greater than the human mind can understand. This peace will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:4-7, New Life Version

Our problems and painful memories may be real, in December and the other 11 months as well, and many are no laughing matter. But that little three-letter decoration is a loud reminder that the Word of God has never failed and won’t stop now: the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength still, and very deep and very wide, no matter what. It's all about choosing to look through the right and heavenly lens…

…“Begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. Worry, fear, distrust, care — all are poisonous! Joy is balm and healing, and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.” 

— A. B. Simpson