Wings

Joys are our wings; sorrows are our spurs.

-Anonymous

Exulting

The Stoic bears, the Epicurean seeks to enjoy, the Buddhist and Hindu stand apart disillusioned, the Muslim submits, but only the Christian exults.

-E. Stanley Jones

Where's joy?

Joy can feel as elusive as a far-flung star in the deepest night. When you look at it, it's gone but when you look to the side, it's there.

C.S. Lewis called joy “unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.”

Sometimes the joy blossoms unbidden, like a spring bubbling up and flowing unbidden. And sometimes joy hides its face and we wonder if we ever felt it.

Lewis defined joy further: it “must be sharply distinguished both from happiness and from pleasure.” We crave happiness and pleasure, rushing from entertainment to diversion in hot pursuit.

But happiness and pleasure don't morph into joy. They fade in the noon sun and we're left wondering what fulfills.

Joy is a by-product of life with God. We don't find it on a joy expedition. God is the source of joy and he gives it: "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy." (Job 8:21)

Today may be dusty and dry or sweet as ripe grapes. But joy is not elusive.Lewis found joy because he found God as its source. We can search for joy or we can search for God.

They feast on the abundance of your house, and
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
Psalms 36:8

Waiting til the fruit is ripe

The baby’s first cry gave fullness of joy but did I forget the pain of pushing? Crossing the finish line brought joy of the victory but did I forget the ache of my lungs and the leaden muscles in my legs?

There were tears of joy as I watched a friend bow before the Lord but did I forget the angry words and broken promises?

Joy is the peach ripe on the tree, rich with flavor and juice. Why would I be content with plucking it green? Silver is pitted and stained if taken too soon.

“What leaves you broken - in the end it makes you better.” Plumb, no stranger to the agony of the heart, told us in her song Better.

A joy-laden tree beckons me closer. I want to grab the fruit and run. But I overlook the race and the pain and the fear. Or I see only the sorrow and the ache and wish to stay in this valley.

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." G. K. Chesterton understood the bitter-sweet tang of perseverance. Do we take the next step even when the pain pushes us back like a stiff wave in the tide?

When the time is ripe, the fruit is sweet and full. No longer does the hurt matter. I reach; I take. All sting is erased as the juice runs down my chin.

Jesus said it so well, as he warned his disciples of his fast-approaching death: there was a resurrection to follow.

“The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you'll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you.”

John 16:22

Friday Five: God’s joy

(Taken from The Message, just for a new breeze of thought.)

'Oh how I'll rejoice in them! Oh how I'll delight in doing good things for them!

Jer 32:41

Count on it— there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

Luke 15:7

This day is holy to God. Don't feel bad. The joy of God is your strength!

Neh 8:10

The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy.

Psalms 19:8

God sent me to announce the year of his grace— a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies— and to comfort all who mourn, To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Isaiah 61:2-3 (MSG)