Bill Johnson - Choosing Joy in the Midst of Difficulty Isn't Denial
Lifestyle joy isn’t living in denial that hard things are happening; neither should I subject my heart, my personhood, to the difficulties going on around me; otherwise, they define me. Joy is—I was going to call it the back door; maybe it’s the front door. It’s the entrance into the things of God that, for so many, for so long, have seemed out of reach. And yet, there’s something about the obedience of rejoicing that does such a transformational work in us that we find ourselves living life at a level we thought was out of reach. Joy—joy is such a huge commodity in heaven that the Father took joy, and it says that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. Joy was such a priceless commodity that Jesus could endure the most horrific thing to ever happen in all of human history; He could endure that because on this side was the reward, and it was called joy.
So when the Bible says the joy of the Lord is your strength, it’s not just a smile; it’s not just a giggle. It’s that internal combustion of the presence and the activity of God that makes everything else bow. Everything else is inferior to that reality of the Spirit of God inside of me, which gives me an emotional and mental encounter with the heart and mind of God at a level I’ve never known before, and rejoicing introduces me to that. Rejoicing is oftentimes the act of faith; it’s the act of surrender that engages me with that heartbeat of God. Joy is not just the fruit of things working well; it’s actually the expression that causes things to work well.
Suddenly, when you see these glimpses of grace in the Old Testament, things in the New Testament, at least for me, start making more sense: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. For if the people of God, without the Spirit of God resident in them, could step into that dimension, that reality in God, then how much more can those who actually have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside enable us to live with extraordinary joy? I personally think, in some ways, joy is the great evidence of conversion. And if you think about it, it’s not just because things always work well; because then you could say, «Well, they’re just good at their job,» or «They have a good family line,» or whatever; you can trace it back to natural things. But oftentimes, the most brilliant displays of joy are in people who have just experienced the most horrific loss. It doesn’t mean that’s what you have to experience first, but it just means it stands out, like the diamond against black velvet on the jeweler’s counter.
There’s a backdrop that makes this thing pop, and there’s something about the joy of God that is not subject to circumstances; it is not subject to world conditions; it is not subject to whether or not I got my dream answered or not. It lives because the Spirit of the resurrected Christ lives in me, and His nature is a nature of joy; His nature is a nature of delight.
So they rejoiced greatly because they understood the words. I especially want new believers to get that one because sometimes it just seems like there are certain parts of life that are just insurmountable, so far out of reach. And yet, He invites us into this rapid growth process that starts because of joy; it runs at the pace of joy. It doesn’t run at the pace of self-determination; it runs at the pace of joy. And the person who has just such a hard time with whatever part of life, money, and you see what the Lord looks for and requires and anticipates from her life, it feels so overwhelming. And yet when you start to see it from His perspective and choose joy, you find yourself in joy doing what seemed impossible and insurmountable. There’s something that takes place in the heart of a person who yields to joy.
In many ways, the life of joy is something you’re just kind of stuck with; it’s your birthright. For you, it was designed for you; you were designed for it. A lifestyle of joy isn’t living in denial that hard things are happening; that’s not an answer. You know, pretending it’s not, it’s not good for us. But neither should I subject my heart, my mind, my personhood to the difficulties going on around me; otherwise, they define me. I was just sharing with the group down here when we took communion one of my all-time favorite quotes from George and Banov; yeah, it’s actually one of my favorite all-time quotes ever. He made this statement: «If you’re not free from sin until death, then Jesus isn’t your Savior; death is.»
Thank you—that’s amazing! But think about how that pertains to joy, how that pertains to every other aspect of life. These things are ours because Jesus bought them, not because we earned them. We didn’t prove ourselves good enough, and somehow rejoicing before I’ve earned the right to be happy transforms me into a person who becomes qualified to live at a dimension in Christ that is otherwise unobtainable.
So, Father, we give You thanks for the inheritance that we can never earn—the joy, the peace, the delights—all the things that are just a part of Your kingdom that we can never earn on our own. And yet they belong to us because Jesus went to battle for us. So we just give thanks. We give You thanks that rejoicing is not empty; it’s not in vain, but our decision to celebrate Your goodness, Your promise, all that You are—to celebrate it before experiencing breakthrough. God, I thank You for that privilege. I pray for a special grace on this family of believers, our friends online from around the world, that You’d release over us a grace to rejoice at the understanding of Your word; that somehow there would be a connection, a personal breakthrough according to our surrender to Your purposes through joy. I pray this in Jesus' name.