Archives For joy

Four Lessons on Joy

samuel kee —  August 20, 2012 — 1 Comment

Hannah was like any other woman.  She longed to know that she was worth it and she needed security.  She felt like having a child would help her with both of these.  But she couldn’t.  She and her husband tried and tried, but she couldn’t get pregnant.

She was very religious, so she prayed for help.  God didn’t seem to listen.  Another woman was listening, however, only she didn’t have sympathy.  She used Hannah’s misfortune to stoke their rivalry.

Miraculously, God allowed Hannah to get pregnant, and she had a son, which she named Samuel.  But after he stopped nursing, she gave him away.  Just like that.  She walked into her house of worship and gave her kid away to the priest.  When she walked out, she felt more joy than she’d ever experienced before.

Jim Elliot, who was killed for his faith, said, “He is not fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Hannah’s story is found in the Bible in 1 Samuel 1, but her song of joy is found in chapter 2.  From her brief story, we learn four crucial things about joy.

First, joy takes perseverance.  Hannah did not just pray once for the child; rather, she had been praying repeatedly, over a long period of time. She did not just pray at the beginning of chapter 2, in other words, but she had been pouring out her soul in prayer in chapter 1 (verses 10, 15, and 27).  This teaches us that prayer takes perseverance.  You must keep at it.  Joy doesn’t come easy.  Happiness and pleasure come easier than joy, but these are just quick fixes, sort of the “junk food” of emotions.  Joy is much deeper, longer, and filling.  This means that if you’re struggling to have joy, then you’re on the right course.  Joy comes only after a struggle.  Struggle may be a sign that joy is getting closer, not farther.

Second, joy must be personal.  Hannah prays to the Lord, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord…because I rejoice in your salvation” (1 Samuel 2:1).  Notice the personal pronouns in her prayer.  “My heart” and “my strength” and “I rejoice.”  You can only have joy if you make it personal.  Joy is a personal choice.  You need to find reasons within your own life to have joy.  Oftentimes, we look at the blessings in another person’s life and we think, “If I just have what they have, then I’ll find joy.”  We turn into leeches, trying to suck the joy right out of another person’s life.  But joy doesn’t work like that.  You have to look at your own life and discover joy from the ingredients of your own situation.  In fact, if you focus too much on the good things in another person’s life, you won’t end up with joy, but you’ll end up with envy; and envy, as Proverbs 14:30 warns, “rots the bones.”  You will end up destroying yourself.

Third, joy is found in a certain place.  You might read 1 Samuel 1-2 and cynically conclude, “Hannah ended up getting what she wanted, a child, so that is why she was able to have joy!”  “Of course she was able to find joy, she got what she wanted!”  Not so fast.  Hannah did not place her joy in her child.  How do I know this?  Because she gave her child away!  Can you imagine?  She gave her kid away.  She gave away the one thing that she so desperately wanted, and then she sang a joyous song about it!  How could she still have joy?  Where was the place of her joy?  Her joy was never in the child, but her joy was “in the Lord.”  She placed her joy squarely in the hands of God, so when she lost her child, she was not shaken.  You cannot have true joy if you’re not willing to sacrifice smaller joys in order to gain bigger ones.  That’s how joy works.  You cannot grab hold of the greatest joy if your hands are still full of lesser joys.

Fourth, joy is a pointer.  C. S. Lewis said that joy is a by-product of earthly life with Christ and is a foretaste of our eternal life with God.

“It [joy] was valuable only as a pointer to something other and outer…When we are lost in the woods the sight of a signpost is a great matter.  He who first sees it cries, ‘Look!’ the whole party gathers round and stares.  But when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles, we shall not stop and stare.  They will encourage us and we shall be grateful to the authority that set them up.  But we shall not stop and stare, or not much; not on this road, though their pillars are of silver and their lettering of gold.  ‘We would be at Jerusalem’”[1].

The source of our joy is not the signposts, but the city we’re traveling to.  The source of our joy is not the birthed babies, the education, the jobs, the successes, but the Savior we’re traveling to.  Just as we would never stop at the sign and make it our source of joy, so must we not live merely for answers to prayers given along the journey.  In another book, Lewis says:

“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing.  These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers.  For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”[2]

Hannah knew that her child was merely a scent of a flower she had not yet found, the echo of a tune she had not yet heard, news from a country she had yet to visit.  In the same way, the joys God gives to us are only scents and signposts, left to lead us to him.  God is the source of joy.  Yes, we can rejoice that we have found a sign, but we must not stop at the sign; we must not make the sign our destination or supreme source of joy.  Every earthly joy is meant to point us to our Heavenly joy.

© Samuel Kee, 2012

[1] Surprised by Joy, 238.

[2] The Weight of Glory, 30-31.

In Finding Hope, Knowing God , , , ,
permalink

How To Find Joy

samuel kee —  June 24, 2012 — 1 Comment

Psalm 118 contains an intoxicating verse, which will give great joy to those who drink it deeply into their heart.  “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).  There are seven things that I want to point out.

First, we learn that God has a job: God is the Maker.  He is the only one who made this day.  This day would not have spun into existence were it not for him.  Neither you nor I invented, manufactured, initiated, or fastened together this day.  God made it and it’s here only because of his will.  He wanted this day here and that’s why it’s here.  Were it not for God, then this day would have never happened.  “This is the day that the Lord has made.”  He is the visionary, architect, and builder of all life, especially today.

Second, we learn that we have a job.  If God’s job is to make this day, then our job is simple (though not always easy): to react.  Actually, the verse specifies not only what we are to do, but also how we are to do it.  We are to react with joy and gladness.  To be happy, in other words, is our job.  “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  You and I both know that we always seek happiness, all the time.  We never veer from this path.  According to this verse, we never ought to stray from this course, either.  Our job is to rejoice and be glad.

Third, we learn the pattern of grace before works.  Most of us have this backward, getting us in all sorts of spiritual and existential trouble.  Our default line of thought is: works before grace.  We think that we have to do good deeds in order to get good things.  So it is with everything else in our lives.  We work really hard, we get good pay.  We study really hard, we get good grades.  We practice really hard, we make the team.  We make all of the sales, we get more recognition.  Then we carry over this line of thought to our spiritual lives—and here’s where it really gets dangerous!  We do enough good stuff in order to tip the balances, and God will let us in.  We do good deeds and God will have favor on us.  But that is not the pattern that this verse gives us.  In Psalm 118:24, grace comes before works.  God gives us the “day” first.  God initiates first, God provides first, and God acts first.  Only then are we called to “work,” rejoicing in what he has given by his grace.   Whenever this pattern of grace-before-works is upset in your life, disaster will follow.  We need to live by God’s pattern.  He loves first and only then do we react to his love.

Fourth, you already have something to rejoice about today, so don’t miss it.  “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  There is something special about this day that God has waiting for you.  I know that life is tough, as we’re surrounded by constant tears.  I’ve walked through the valley, too, many times.  But I also know that even in the valley, there is something to rejoice about.  God is not overwhelmed by the trials.  If he were, then the trials would be “God.”  But my God is bigger than all trials and can redeem even the wickedest day.  There is something about this day that is worth rejoicing over; and if we only focus on the trials then we’ll never see the triumphs.  Go confidently into this day, knowing that there is something to rejoice and be glad about.  Hasn’t evil done enough damage in this world?  Why then should we also allow it to take away the joy that God has for us in today?   I say, let us not feed the fire of sorrow, so that we might fan the flame of joy.

Fifth, we do it together.  This was very profound for me to see.  The verse does not say, “Let me rejoice and be glad in it.”  Rather, it says, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  In other words, it’s easier to rejoice with others than it is by yourself.  Listen, it is very helpful to depend on others in your pursuit of daily joy.  Having joy by yourself is good, but it pales in comparison to sharing joy with another.  As C. S. Lewis observed, sharing our joys with others actually completes our experience of joy.  That’s why we share good books or movies or restaurants with friends.  When your faith falters, you can depend on their faith.  Two are stronger than one, in this fight for joy.  If you’re having trouble finding something about this day to rejoice over, then go find someone else to rejoice with.  Having a joyful life is more like a potluck, where everyone brings something fresh to the feast, and less like a microwave dinner, where you eat alone, merely warming up some frozen thing from the past.

Sixth, this verse is not only the plan for your life today, but also for the rest of your life.  “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  This verse is a microcosm of the whole thing!  This is the pattern for today—and for forever!  God’s pattern does not shift.  He is our Maker today and forever.  We are to recognize him and have joy in him today and forever.  The whole of your life is to fit this remarkable pattern that God has established.  In other words, this is also your life strategy for tomorrow, the next year, and the next decade after that.  You will never grow too sophisticated for this life strategy.

Seventh, therefore, if you can’t find joy today, then you’ll never find it the rest of your life.  All the ingredients for true joy are present today.  “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  If you’re waiting for something “good” to come true, then you’re seeking an inferior joy.  If you’re waiting for something “bad” to come untrue, then you’re seeking an inferior joy.  Don’t hear me wrong, we must strive to rid life of evil and there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to the various celebrations in life.  However, these are not the source of joy and if we look only to them, then we will be crushed.  If we look only to them, then we will fail to look to God.  The great secret of this verse is that it gives us the roadmap to joy.  Unfaltering and eternal joy is found only in God.  God is the source of lasting joy.  The source of joy is not contingent, but constant.  Joy does not depend on how things turn out, but on God, the one who gives and retrieves each day.  Look around you; joy is lurking near you today.  If you can’t see it, then you may never see it.  God, have mercy on us; help us not to be entranced by the episodes and evils that steal our eyes from you.

© Samuel Kee, 2012

In Finding Hope, Knowing God , , , ,
permalink

You’ll never be the same

samuel kee —  May 2, 2012 — Leave a comment

Image

When you meet God, you’ll never be the same.

Don’t expect to have God in your life and then remain the same.  It’s not possible.  Well, maybe it is if you treat him like a parakeet, caged up in the corner.  The God who created the world ex nihlo, is not a caged bird; he’s more like a raging lion.  Before there was a world or space or dust, there was only God.  He gave time permission to tick and space permission to open up.  He told the dust to be formed and the light to shine.  He is present and at work so much more than we could ever dream. 

Some of us treat God like a wonderful addition to our lives, to bring a little meaning and joy into our worlds.  Otherwise, we’re basically the same.  We have our work and our school and our family and our dreams…and, oh yes, our little Jesus.  We’ll open his cage and put him on our finger when we need cheered up. 

I love the line from the U2 song Stand Up Comedy: “Stop helping God across the road, like a little, old lady.”  How often we treat God like a little old lady!

Remember that scene in Genesis 32:22-32 when Jacob wrestles the angel?  Actually, the angel is God.  And God goes easy on him.  They wrestle all night long and by dawn, Jacob is messed up.  When God is done with him, Jacob limps for life and he has a new name.  Talk about change!  Not only is Jacob affected physically, but also his identity is altered.  He is no longer who he once was, after meeting the raging Lion.

College wrestling was like that for me.  Every practice, somebody got hurt.  A twisted knee, a split lip, stitches, a burst ear drum, chipped teeth, popped shoulder, abrasions, bruises, bumps, scratched cornea, broken nose.  When you left practice, you weren’t in the same condition as when you started.  Those guys were not tame.

When you meet God, you’ll never be the same.  It’s not that he’ll mess you up for the worse, however.  He’ll mess you up for the good.  He’ll hurt you back to health.  He’ll take your self-orbit and straighten you out, so that your life orbits around himself and others.  He takes us navel-gazers and turns us into God-and-people-gazers.  He wrestles our despair away and gives us joy.  He causes our inability to limp so that his ability alone can sustain us.  He roots out our deepest guilt and shame and replaces them with forgiveness and hope. 

The Lion of Judah devours the dead man in us and leaves behind the eternal man.

He takes away our old name “Deceiver” and gives us our new name “He wrestles with God.”

So please don’t treat Jesus as just a good teacher, as C. S. Lewis warned.  He did not leave that option open.  Don’t treat him like a fine example to follow, either.  Realize that he is the raging Lion who flew headlong into death in order to seize you from its jaws. 

© Samuel Kee, 2012

In Knowing God , , , , , , , ,
permalink

A Truly Full Life

samuel kee —  February 9, 2012 — Leave a comment

Could it be that there is so much more?

My wife took a pinto bean out of our cupboard—you know, the kind that you eat.  Only she didn’t eat it.  She gave it some water, some sunlight, and some time.  After several days, a miracle happened.  The ordinary pinto bean broke open.  Then a stem started to emerge from it.  Quite shocked that this sort of thing could happen from one of the beans that I had been planning to eat, I asked, “What’s it going to turn into?”  Okay, so I wasn’t thinking.

“A bean plant,” she told me.  Wow: a bean plant, which would eventually produce more beans.  All that from a little bean.

Looking at the bean, now beginning to sprout, I could plainly see that it had “life in itself.”  There was energy inside of it, just waiting to be tapped into.  It was not just food; it was potential, just sitting in a bag in our cabinet.  It was just waiting.  Waiting for someone to give it the things that it needed to thrive, water and sunlight and time.

Most beans in my house will never see the light of day.  Most beans in my house will suffer the same fate: being boiled or cooked, made into soup or chili or sandwich spread.  Most beans have totally flown under my radar, as I never realized all the potential lurking inside of them.  They had life inside of themselves, and I didn’t even know it.

There are two lessons that I learned from this.  First, there is more of “God” lurking about than I ever realized.  This bean was proof.  How did that bean sprout?  I know, light and water and time.  But really, what triggered it?  What’s behind the chemistry of it all?  What said, “Go!” to the bean, as it soaked in the water and light.  Some call it metaphysics, but I call it a miracle, because it displays the original energy of God, left over in it, “planted” in it.  God is the source of creation and life, we know that.  But God has left residual energy and life within the creation he made.  He’s left crumbs from the original feast, sparks from the original fire.  Living things have life within them, leftover from God’s creative action.

But soon the bean will die, as will all living things.  There’s just not enough “juice” left in them.  You see, all living things have been cut off from the source of life, the Creator himself.  Having been cut off from the source, like a battery away from a power outlet, living things will “run” for a little while, but eventually they will die.  Life drains away if it’s cut off from the source of power.  The bean is a testimony to the existence of God, the power source, from which its life came, and through which it needs to be renewed.  But now we’re talking about people.  Unless we humans can get back to our power source, we will perish.  We’ll live and sprout for a little while, but eventually we’ll drain.

Second, the pinto bean serves as a metaphor for how complex human beings are.  We cannot reduce humans down to just biology, as materialists and naturalists do.  Neither can we reduce humans and their problems down to spirituality or psychology.  Humans are incredibly complex, consisting of body, emotion, and spirit.  We fail at truly helping individuals when we just write them a prescription, in other words.  Or we fail them when we just teach them about God, without addressing their physical or emotional needs.

Here’s my point: the pinto bean had so much potential, but it was just waiting for the right ingredients to crack it open, to release its true beauty and purpose.  It could do its job just fine being an ordinary bean, sitting in a bag and awaiting to be eaten.  But with water and light and time, its true potential was released.

Could it be that you are like that bean, full of potential and waiting to serve your purpose?  You care about your body and try your best to take care of yourself emotionally.  But you’ve never been awakened by God, by his living water and eternal light.  Could it be that there is so much more potential in your life, if you just soak yourself in God’s word and fill yourself with his Spirit?

You feel empty, you’re just sitting around, you wonder if there is more to life.  Do you know that with God, there is so much more?  He’ll grow you into a thriving plant, so that you can truly give back to the world, multiplying your little life beyond your years.

If your life only consists of the physical and the here-and-now, then you’re missing out on a truly full life.

© Samuel Kee, 2011

In Finding Hope, Knowing God , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Smudge the Sheep

samuel kee —  December 7, 2011 — Leave a comment

God's fences were designed to keep us close.

There once was a sheep named Smudge.  He was just a little guy, whose brother was named Smartie.  Smudge was a very curious sheep and insisted on exploring the world outside of the fence.  So, he diligently searched the fence for an opening.  One day, he finally found one at the bottom and managed to squeeze through it.  His newfound freedom was exhilarating.  He peeked back at his brother, Smartie, who stood inside of the fence, and he felt sorry for him.  Smudge was now free to do whatever he wanted.

In all of his frolicking, Smudge soon began to get hungry.  Looking through the wire fence, he saw his brother suckling at their mother, enjoying her warm milk.  Smudge headed toward the fence, but was unable to find a gap.  The gap that he had crawled through before would not let him through from the opposite direction.  Smudge grew hungrier and hungrier as he searched for a way to get through.  Just then, however, a stray dog came growling down the dirt road where Smudge stood.  The dog lunged toward the tiny sheep, obviously seeking to tear it apart.  Smudge ran as fast as he could down the road, until he found a split rail fence whose gaps were just big enough for him to fit through.  Smudge dove through the rails, just as the dog snapped at his hind legs.

Smudge was safe, or so he thought.  Turning around, he was face to face with a large bull, who was not too pleased at the sight of this little intruder.  Once again, Smudge ran; the mighty bull followed him across the pasture.  Smudge managed to escape on the other side, but almost got hit by school bus when he crossed the road outside of the fence.

In all of the excitement and with night falling fast, Smudge got lost.  Making matters worse, a snowstorm whipped through the air, sending a sudden burst of wind and ice upon the lost sheep.  Soon, Smudge was covered with snow, as his body was unable to out-warm the freezing flakes.  It wasn’t long until Smudge collapsed on the ground and the snow piled upon him.

Later that evening, a girl named Penny happened to stumble upon the mound of snow, discovering the half-froze sheep.  With the help of her mother, she brought Smudge inside the warm house, warmed him with a blow-dryer, and helped him to revive.  She fed him warm milk and nursed him back to health.

This is my summary of a children’s story I read last night.  And I can’t help but thinking about how we like to get to the other side of God’s fence.  We look at God’s laws and think, “Life would really be much better on the other side of this fence.”  We believe that God’s rules are way too restrictive and keep us from having fun.

But life—for Smudge or for us—is not better on the other side of the fence.  The fence is not meant to keep us from having fun, but to keep us from being killed.  On the other side of God’s fence, there are forces that are capable of destroying us.

Here’s another way of looking at it: the “fence” of God’s law is not meant to keep us from fun, but it is meant to keep us close to God.  So that the more fences we crawl under, the farther from God we get.  God’s fences were designed by him to keep us close to the source of life.

His laws are less about what we do not get to do and more about whom we get to be with.  Did you get that?

If you’re trying to find a way through the fence right now, turn around and look at God.  He is your source of life and nourishment and protection and joy.  Yes, joy.  Beyond the fence is danger, not in the sense of risk, but in the sense of stupidity.  Why stray to look for outside of the fence what you can only find inside of the fence?

© Samuel Kee, 2011

In Knowing God , , , , , ,
permalink

Live to the Full

samuel kee —  September 19, 2011 — 1 Comment

In Videos , , , , , , , , ,
permalink