“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
John 17:13-19 NLT
There is something about the Words of Jesus that fills us with joy. But as we look around us in our societies and see issues such as drug abuse, alcoholism, mental ill-health, physical problems, despair and more, all symptoms of a people without hope, we see a people who are looking for a remedy to their pain. These are all people who have a lack of joy, because they have either never heard the words of Jesus, or have heard them and discarded them as being irrelevant to them in their miserable lives, lives without joy, hope, and any definitive sense of purpose. Of course, in Jesus’ day there was no social budget to support a section of the population who fall into the hopeless and joyless category, but the pain was still there, and people flocked to hear Jesus’ Words, because they contained the message of hope and life eternal.
Two disciples were walking to a place called Emmaus, and we can pick up the account in Luke 24. A Man, who the disciples later realised was Jesus, came up to them and asked them, “ … What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces” (Luke 24:17). Graphic details of two men in pain and grief, hope destroyed, joy taken away. They said, “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago” (Luke 24:21). As they journeyed on towards Emmaus we then read what happened next. “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). But the Words of Jesus had an amazing impact on them. We read, “They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”” (Luke 24:32). His Words restored their hope and joy.
Today, regardless of the pressures of living in democratic and capitalistic societies, we can still access the Words of Jesus and live a life of joy. Jesus’ Words are timeless and unaffected by circumstances because they sit high above any worldly and humanistic environment. But sometimes we may experience periods of a lack of joy, as our circumstances overpower us. Sometimes like David we cry out, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness” (Psalm 55:6-7). We take our eyes off our Creator God and instead focus on what is causing us so much pain. Sadly, joy and hope become lost in a sea of self-pity and misery.
In John 15:10-11, we read Jesus’ Words, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” As we soak ourselves in the Words of Jesus, joy will become more resilient within us, as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. A series of circumstances will help the fruit of joy to grow within us. The Apostle Paul, suffering and languishing in a Roman prison, wrote, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). When Paul and Silas were in Philippi they antagonised a certain section of the population and we read, “A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts 16:22-25). That’s joy in action. There is a Christian man alive today called Nick Vujicic, who lacks arms and legs, a condition he has had since birth. One of his strap lines is, “I’ve got no arms and legs, what’s your problem“. He has no lack of joy in spite of his circumstances. And he is an inspiration to many people throughout the world.
Whatever we are facing into today we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a remedy that starts with the Words of Jesus. Those words will point us to a life of joy, but there is a problem. We have to read them first.
Dear God. We need to read Your Word more so that we can benefit from all Your truths. Please open the Scriptures before us so that we can know and understand, and live a life of joy. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 