Circumstantial Happiness vs. Abounding Joy

     True joy is one of those things that only a Christian can possess.  At some times, it can be easy to have joy.  But we know that we are commanded to rejoice always.  That means in the hard times, too.  Let me illustrate.

     My great-grandmother was an incredible woman.  Unfortunately, she died before I was born.  But I've heard so many stories about her that it almost feels like I've met her.  And great-Grandma's life is something we can learn from, one that radiated Christ's character.

     She and her first husband had two stillborn baby girls before receiving a daughter who lived.  But when her one and only living daughter was still young, great-Grandma's husband left her, never to return.  As a then single mother, she met and married my great-grandfather and gave birth to a precious boy (my grandpa). However, when great-Grandma's daughter was only fourteen, she died.  Now with only one living child instead of what could have been four, her second husband died as well, leaving her a widow and single mother...again. She also developed back issues and cancer in her later life, among other health problems. But the amazing thing is that everyone who ever knew great-Grandma says that she was the sweetest, most joyful person they'd ever met. She never drove, so she took the bus everywhere.  She gave out sandwiches to the homeless at the bus stops, sharing the gospel with them at the same time.  We have no doubt that she is with her Lord today.

     Circumstantial happiness is what the unsaved cling to (sometimes without knowing it).  When everything is going their way, they appear to have joy.  But when trials come, they all of a sudden lose their sunshine. That's because they didn't have the joy of the Lord--just circumstantial happiness.  Consider the Israelites.
After leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, they started to complain about how not everything was going their way.  For some strange reason, they thought everything would be hunky-dory once Egypt was out of sight.  They had circumstantial happiness (or unhappiness, depending on the state of affairs).  It took the Israelites a long while to realize how God had been testing them, yet had also been so gracious (just read Deuteronomy 8).

     My dad recently brought a message to our church on the subject of rejoicing.  He read a lot of verses, which I wrote down.  And Philippians is, of course, an excellent passage of scripture to read when studying joy.  I could type the entire book for this post, I know.  But I decided to share just one thought from chapter four.  Verses six and seven say this:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication

 with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard 

your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

    What I really hooked on was the first section of 7, which talks about how the peace of God surpasses all comprehension.  This joy that we have in Christ carries over into the hard circumstances, which is something that unbelievers just cannot understand.  It's even hard for Christians to comprehend!  We know that God gives us that peace, but in a way it is still a mystery to us that He would bless us in such a way.  And it is interesting to note that peace comes right after joy in the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

     The epistles of Peter are some of my especially favored passages of God's word.  So much can be gleaned from the few short pages!  In this particular place, joy and faith are interwoven so profoundly:

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little 

while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold

which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found

to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of 

Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him,

and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,

you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible 

and full of glory,"

1 Peter 1:6-8

     I'd like to conclude by encouraging you to read 1 Chronicles 16:8-36.  This beautifully poetic passage exults in God's judgement and rejoices in His majesty!