Hope Road

Nonetheless, I still let outward things determine my inward state, with the result that I have fickle joy, not Paul-like joy - the kind that would lead me to say,

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:12)

So when this unhappy lack of sturdy joy leads me to pray (which it always does, and I thank God!), I don’t want to pray primarily for my circumstances to change. I want to pray first for my unbelieving heart to change.

(Tyler Kenney on the Desiring God Blog)

When I read the phrase “sturdy joy,” it really resonated with me. A lack of Paul-like joy, that steady, unflinching contentment in all circumstances, is what keeps me from being satisfied in the here and now. And it makes me afraid that I’ll be unhappy in the future, because my joy is often more fickle than sturdy - based on externals, and easily swayed.

What I need instead is a joy that is sturdy; an enduring happiness that is hardy, uncompromising, bold, and strong. A rugged rejoicing, if you will. And this can only be rooted in Jesus! How many times I am going to have to preach that to myself.

Really, it’s an incredibly freeing truth. My joy won’t have to waver. I don’t have to be unsure if I’m not building my joy in my circumstances. If I know that I am content because of inward, not outward realities, I won’t have to fear the future, because it has no power to shake my contentment.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

Filed under: Christianity, Personal Reflection, Scripture on May 19th, 2008