Complete Joy

The conference notifications keep arriving in my inbox: "What Does It Take to be Happy?" "What is Happiness to YOU?" "In Pursuit of Happiness." We spoke this past Sunday about the ways God has used plagues in Exodus and again in Revelation to get our attention, pointing to the inadequacies of the idols we hold dear and ultimately drawing us closer to Him. So how has a longing for happiness emerged from our current pandemic?

Before COVID restrictions wiped our calendars clean in March 2020, the most common answer I heard to "How are you?" was "Busy." Better yet, "BUSY," accompanied by an eye-roll and a sigh. For many of us, myself included, the calendar had become an idol, locking us into responsibilities that we deemed critical and keeping us dashing from point to point without space to pause and enjoy.

Here is where it behooves us to pause and wonder: Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-39 that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. But He doesn't stop there. In John 15, we hear of a love that is a kind of soaking -- from Father to Son to us and back up again: If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

As we love the Father and remain in His love, just as Jesus does, we are offered the gift of Jesus' joy. Not incremental joy or a taste of His joy, but complete joy. And, as Jesus reminds us in John 14:26-27, this joy is undergirded by a Holy Spirit peace that will be foreign to the secular world: The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

So as I ponder the most recent conference invitation, a virtual gathering sponsored by The Atlantic titled "In Pursuit of Happiness," I am pleased to see the seeking. On whatever level the realization occurs, our culture has woken up to the idol of busyness, and that will undoubtedly emerge as one of the indelible positives from this difficult past year. The speakers at the two-day event in May promise to "explore the human hold on happiness," including "the ways in which a year of social isolation has reframed our understanding of a lasting sense of joy." The speakers are numerous and diverse, from psychology professors and financial CEOs to journalists and the U.S. Surgeon General (look here), which suggests that this pursuit is not isolated to a narrow population of seekers.

While we know "the human hold on happiness" can lead us down a frustrating path, aiming us right back at the empty idols that seek to destroy with the vengeance of Revelation 9, what role can we play as we hear those around us seeking new answers, a new path? Will you continue to allow anxiety and frustration define the way you speak to others, or will you allow Jesus' complete joy to enter in?

Keep in mind that happiness is dependent on our circumstances; we are "happy" when everything is aligned as we want it to be. But joy -- complete joy -- has nothing to do with our circumstances; we can experience joy in the darkest of foxholes. So how will you experience joy today? And how will you allow your joy seep out to all you encounter, befuddling their quest for happiness with a Holy Spirit resonance that ultimately draws them to Jesus?

In Joy,

Jennie