A convergence of circumstances has me thinking about joy and how it is manifested in my life. But it was a conversation with a friend earlier this week that really sent me into a bout of navel gazing, as another friend once described my labored thought-process.

Basically, my long-time friend told me Wednesday that I did not act like someone who had joy – you know that bubbling over expression of God’s love and presence that emanates from the inside. (My definition.) She went on to say that she had another friend who always seemed ready to tell someone about her faith and did it enthusiastically, joyfully.

“You’re too controlled. You’re still holding back,” she said, noting some of the blogs she had read.

I do have joy, I protested as we continued on for a few minutes more. I guess everyone expresses their faith differently, she concluded. Yes, everyone’s soul rhythm carries a distinct ebb and flow.

But, different or not, I’ve come to the point in my walk of faith where I want the joy of the Lord to be evident in my life.  Joy is one of the nine Fruit of the Spirit that as a believer I should be producing in my life and passing on to others. It is more than an emotion that waxes and wanes with our circumstances; it is something beyond being happy. Joy is a deep delight, an inner abiding in the ways of God, no matter what negative situations are impinging on your life.

 And I know without a doubt that the joy of the Lord is my strength, because I would not have had the stamina to go through some of my most difficult life challenges without that joy.  I still may not smile as much as I should but I still have joy, as the song goes. (This version of the song by Tye Tribbett is exuberant. Take a listen.)

Yesterday, a friend posted on her Facebook status: “Good morning, Facefriends! Carpe Gaudium (“Seize joy” – and if you do, then you’ll have the day)!”

It encouraged me to continue on my journey to joy and remained me of a movie scene that I saw on television a few weeks ago.   In the movie, whose title escapes me, Angelina Jolie was playing a spy (no not Salt) and in one scene, she and a male spy were running from some bad guys.  The two ran to the top of a construction site, retrieved and donned two winged jumpsuits that were hidden there.

Just as the bad guys approached them with guns blazing, Jolie and her companion jumped off the edge of the building. They soared through the sky with abandon and left their pursuers shaking their heads in amazement.

That scene has stayed with me. That’s the kind of joy I want, a soaring joy that comes from living a life of freedom in Christ Jesus.

“This is the true JOY in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
– George Bernard Shaw

What about you? How is the joy of the Lord demonstrated in your life?

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