With 2020 just around the corner, how can we be ensured that our 2020 will be full of joy? What would it look like to live 2020 with joy?
The day after Christmas, Ben and I had to put our precious dog, Zoe, down. I’ve never had a dog like Zoe, so the loss has broken my heart. Zoe was five years old and the liver cancer just took over her little body. The days leading up to Christmas were wrought with pain, agony and concern for her. There was not much that felt “merry” about our Christmas.
Since that dreadful day, our home seems to scream of her loss in every nook and cranny. With every sound I hear, I expect her to appear in our presence. With every squirrel we see in the backyard, we expect her to make a fast dash outdoors.
I had to come to grips with the fact that I’m far from happy. But, then God reminded me of something! Something I already knew, but needed a refresher course to help me through this season of grief.
We tend to get happiness and joy mixed up. Happiness comes from an Old Norse root, happ, for happiness. It is defined as “chance, good fortune, or good luck.” We’re happy if we get a promotion. We’re happy if we win a new car. We’re happy if we go on a vacation. With happiness, we rely on circumstances and our good fortune, which cannot and will not always be there for us. Happiness is sure great, but we can’t always rely on having it.
But, joy is different. Gaio is the Greek word for joy, and this root word always points back to “great pleasure, rejoicing, happiness.” Many of us tend to confuse joy with happiness. We want so much to be happy that we will seek to control our lives at all lengths to achieve happiness. We eventually fall short of achieving it.
I’m not very happy today, but I have joy. Throughout the Bible, I read about folks who continue to have joy and praise God amidst the bleakest of circumstances. Paul was in prison when we wrote Philippians and said “Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice."(Philippians 4:4) Paul and others in the Bible help me see that we can choose joy, no matter what is happening externally. True joy is not about chance or luck or getting what I want. God is the giver of joy and it involves living our lives for Him, knowing He is in control of all things….even when it doesn’t feel like it. As we surrender our lives to the Father, we trust Him, even amidst the pain, confusion and doubts.
I may shed a tear at the drop of a hat. I may even be sad for the next while. My heart is broken. But, at the same time, God can give me joy, even when I’m not happy. I’m expecting to live a life full of joy in 2020. Are you?
“There is a joy available that the deepest grief cannot put out. No circumstance or person can take away the joy God gives.” Timothy Keller
“Regardless of where you are today, God is with you. God is wooing you. God wants you to experience Him. Whatever you are going through today, you can find His joy and peace. However distant your dream may seem, God is working things out, and today is an important part of the process.” Lisa TerKeurst
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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