The Joy from God

Joy is easy when everything is going well. The hard part is joy when it isn’t.

When the budget doesn't add up. When the test result wasn't what you'd hoped for. When you get up to face another day just like the one you've just fought your way through. Then "choose joy" almost sounds like mockery.

Åbenlovsang has just released a Danish version of the song "The Joy" — in Danish "Glæden fra Gud," the joy from God. The chorus is short and keeps coming back:

The lines from “The joy from God” are not reproduced here — listen to the song by ÅbenLovsang via the link in the article.

Notice it doesn't say "a good mood makes me strong." It says the joy from God. That's a different source. And it doesn't dry up when the circumstances do.

There's a prophet in the Bible who understood this better than most. Habakkuk looks out over everything that's broken, and he doesn't dress it up:

"Even though the fig tree does not blossom, the vine bears no fruit, the olive harvest fails, the fields lie barren, the sheep have vanished from the fold, and the stall is empty, yet I will still rejoice in the Lord and delight in my God and Savior, for the Mighty One makes me strong." (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Notice the little word "yet." Habakkuk doesn't deny that the fields are empty. He doesn't lie about it hurting. He simply chooses where to look. Away from the empty stall, toward his God. And listen to how his song ends: "for the Mighty One makes me strong." That's exactly what the song sings.

The song puts words to a choice, not a feeling: "Today I choose to believe that You are more than enough." Joy isn't something that just hits you when the stars line up. It's something you can turn toward, in the middle of it all.

It's not a new idea. When the people of Israel stood weeping because they were overwhelmed, they got a surprising message:

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord gives you strength!" (Nehemiah 8:10)

The joy of the Lord. Not the joy of a good day. That's what carries you when everything else gives way.

Hør "Glæden fra Gud" her: https://youtu.be/JaiZAv82pSw. Sæt den på i bilen eller i køkkenet, og syng med på omkvædet, indtil du selv tror på det: glæden fra Gud gør mig stærk.

And come and join us. [DAY] at 6 p.m. we're gathering for food and a barbecue at Humlehaven 64. Come as you are, and bring your joy — or come and borrow some of ours.

Where do you need the joy from God right now — not as a good mood, but as a strength that carries?