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Joy Because Of, Joy in Spite Of
Shoulders bent, she sat slumped on the couch, drowning in her tears and the turbulent tide of meeting the needs of family, the demands of the job, the unending struggle of going on in the face of chronic pain and staying in a marriage that was more pain than pleasure. And then the chirpingly cheerful voice of the fit, flexible, energetic exercise leader rang out from the television accentuating the rhythm of her movements as she sang out amidst other encouraging things. “Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say rejoice.” Somehow the words then sounded like some shallow slogan, a rah rah cheer or a wishful exhortation to hang in there. Hang in there! Do the best you can!

Is that what this scripture found in Philippians 4:4 amounts to? Is Paul, in these words, beating the bass drum of encouragement, trying to invigorate the energies and boost the spirits of the saints: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice... .” Was this a kind of sanctified whistling past the graveyard of reality? After all, Paul is increasingly feeble and slow in movement, advanced in years, showing signs of physical weakness, in prison writing during the last years of his life, as he faced impending execution for his stand for Jesus.

Compounding the paradox, he is writing to the Christians in Philippi, few in number, adherents of a decidedly unpopular religion. A church filled with doubt and fear in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation and an aggressively evil environment, facing dissension within and opposition without. And yet Paul forcefully exclaims, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” Could this continuous refrain of joy, sixteen times in four chapters, add up to a painful rebuke for today’s believers when people see religion as a source of goodness but certainly not gladness? Joyful Christians? Is this an oxymoron based on the common view of Christians which suggests religion might be a crutch, or a comfort, but not a source of joy.

Since it is difficult to understand this “rejoice always” in the context of the every day, nitty-gritty struggle to survive the living of life, clearly certain points need to be clarified. One is, rejoice is a variant form of the word “joy”. While joy is the Christian virtue, happiness is the virtue of the world. The difference is, happiness is external, circumstantial depending on the things we have or can acquire, things like money, power, fame, a cosmetic make over. All external and when they go happiness goes. Joy is independent of your environment and will persist through any and all circumstances. As Jeanie Burton quips, “Joy has a much longer shelf life than happiness.” While happiness relates to the physical world, joy relates to both the physical world and the spiritual world.

Another clarification is the joy Paul witnesses to and exhorts us to is joy because of, “Rejoice in the Lord” The secret to joy is not to look at the circumstances of your own life. Rather, look to Christ and what he has done for you and in you and to you. Our joy, our rejoicing, is to be “in the Lord.” To “rejoice in the Lord” is to rejoice that we are the Lord's. And "in the Lord" we enjoy: peace with God, help in temptation, the assurance of God's companionship in time of trial. And we also rejoice in the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.

Joy because of, "rejoice in the Lord," but also joy in spite of, “rejoice always.”

The word always is emphatic, an active imperative, which in Greek suggests that the action should be continuous. "Rejoice, and keep on rejoicing," would be an apt paraphrase. But would it be a sensible one when it seems future hopes and dreams have crashed and burned, when catastrophic illness turns everything upside down? Do we comfort ourselves with a stiff upper lip maintaining the pretense of having it all together?

Paul's life is a living commentary on this verse and a personal example of “joy in spite of... .” When Paul, with Silas, first preached the Gospel in Philippi, he was stripped, beaten, flogged, and thrown into prison with his feet fastened in stocks. “About midnight,” says scripture in Acts 16, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Joy in spite of... .

Perhaps your life is filled with tragedy and hardship—and there is plenty to go around. Heaping supplies for those mourning the loss of loved ones, parents agonizing over wayward children. More than enough for those who have gone or are going through the heartache of divorce. For those families with children disabled with physical, emotional, or mental disorders. For those who find themselves struck with a debilitating illness. I’ve been there and it’s tough in such situations to feel any joy. In such circumstances does the Lord really expect us to “rejoice in the Lord?” Yes, because “joy in spite of...” always rests on “joy because of... in the Lord.

Now, make no mistake and let me hasten to add that even Paul did not rejoice in the Lord for all circumstances. Rather, we are to rejoice or give thanks in all circumstances. For instance, we don't rejoice for death or for pain or for divorce or for cancer. But, by the grace of God, it is given us to rejoice in or during or after these difficult and painful circumstances. This does not mean blindness to or denial of the harsh realities of life rather it does mean one does not let the dark realities of life blind him or her to the radiance of joy to be found in the Lord!

Joy because of, joy in spite of.

Joy like that of the devoted Christian undergoing chemotherapy who was told by a friend, “Under the circumstances, I don’t see how you can be so cheerful.” The patient responded not in pious bravado but in personal conviction. “I’m not under any circumstances. Because of Jesus, I’m on top of the circumstances!”

Joy because of, joy in spite of.

 

Conversation with Benjamin Reaves

Lydia Talbot: Ben, that was so inspirational. You have been on this program 17 times, but you almost didn’t make it this time because of a serious medical crisis that surprised you recently. How did you manage to hang on to the joy you’ve just told us about when you learned in the hospital that the wire of your defibulator was broken?

Benjamin Reaves: If I can restate what was said in the message, “Joy in spite of...” rests on “Joy because of...” in the Lord. And because of that, I was able to sort my way through, knowing that God was directing my life and in the ministry to me of the doctors. It did happen in the hospital and not in an airport somewhere.

Talbot: We know you well enough to know that your love of music and the hymns are so important to you. In the hospital were you imagining, maybe not humming them, but were you imagining some of your favorite hymns to get you through?

Reaves: I was not just imagining, I was humming!

Talbot: Which ones?

Reaves: And I was singing, How Great Thou Art, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. I tell you, the music sustained me and encouraged me, especially in those night hours when no one was there and I was left alone, it seemed, to wonder, “Will I leave the hospital alive?” The Lord encouraged my heart through that music.

Daniel Pawlus: Ben, I’m wondering if you could talk a little bit more about your distinction between goodness and gladness. Why aren’t we more hungry for that gladness? It seems like we’re satisfied sometimes with goodness, but joy is in that deeper gladness, isn’t it?

Reaves: You’re right. Yes, it is. And it’s unfortunate that those who observe us tend to see that we place a greater priority on very rigid goodness but not exuberant gladness. It’s as if goodness is a pain. And it’s unfortunate that we should convey that.

Talbot: And the distinction also between joy and happiness. I mean we’re talking about the same thing here but you discerned that distinction. Tell us about happiness as a secular value.

Reaves: Happiness depends on circumstances, on what happens. As long as things happen that are right for you, you’re happy. But then when it’s not that way, all of a sudden the happiness goes. But joy sustains. I love that phrase: “it has a longer shelf life.”

Talbot: And in our market culture, we don’t need all those things to enjoy life, do we?

Reaves: We find that out once we get those things.

Talbot: And we’re given life to enjoy all things.

Reaves: Yes, we are.

Pawlus: What are the other things that bring you great joy in life, Ben? Obviously your prayer life and things that come out of that.

Reaves: Yes. Family. And the older I get the greater that joy is; to be with my wife as we travel from place to place, just to look at her and know that for 51 years God has blessed us to be together. Great joy, if I might be so bold to say!

Pawlus: That’s wonderful.

Talbot: Tell us her name.

Reaves: Jean.

Talbot: Jean is with you on this trip, travels with you, and is your constant companion.

Reaves: Yes, she does. Yes, indeed.

Talbot: I want to ask you about constant companionship and inseparable companions. Faith, hope, and joy all work together in this formula, don’t they?

Reaves: Yes, they do. One feeds the others. The joy is fed by faith in God in whom my joy rests, but my hope is also brightened and heightened as I continue to maximize the exercise of that faith in the God who gives me hope. It all comes together in a confluence that inspires the soul.

Pawlus: I hear you talking about a deeper trust in the Lord to lead us to joy. That is what you’re really saying.

Reaves: Yes. And that deeper trust is a trust not just in God’s power to deliver but, as I like to remind people, it’s a trust in God’s providence that determines when his power will be used. It’s what I call a “but if not” faith. He’s able to deliver, but if not, we still will not bow down.

Talbot: Awareness is an important component in all of this, isn’t it, Ben? I’m reminded of the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder where Emily, who dies at age 12, goes back. She has one day to return back. She says, “Do humans really ever see each other? Do they really see one another when they are living? Do they really see things when they’re living?” Isn’t awareness important in this process?

Reaves: Oh, absolutely. One of the interesting things is that as one ages one becomes more and more attentive. One begins to recognize and see things that before, we were so busy, so caught up in the living of life, we didn’t take time to appreciate life and be attentive to people.

Talbot: What was one of those things for you today?

Reaves: You know, I was walking down Michigan Avenue looking for a cab and I saw a man. He was walking, but he was walking with his walker and he had an oxygen tank. I thought to myself, “Keep going, brother!”

Pawlus: Thank you so much for sharing your joy with us. It’s always a joy to have you with us.

Reaves: Thank you.

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