Obnoxious Joy, Part Two
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart!
Where?
Down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
And I’m so happy
So very happy
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart
And I’m so happy
So very happy
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
Know that song? I remember singing it over and over during my early days as a believer in Jesus.
It did accurately describe my feelings related to accepting God’s gift of forgiveness, but it did not accurately describe my journey as a Christ-follower in a rough-and-tumble world.
Somehow I got it in my teenage head that living as a Christ-follower meant I should always have a smile on my face. I think that came from verses like Philippians 4:4-5 (NLT): “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon”
Okay, rejoice. Smile. Got it!
But what do I do with the seething, underground river of not-so-happy emotions within my soul?
In my teenage wisdom, I determined to ignore those emotions. After all, these emotions did not honor God. In fact, they certainly displeased him. Ah, SIN.
Really?
Are emotions, except joy (of course) sinful?
Certainly they can lead us to sin, to disobey God’s good laws. Certainly they have power.
One of my go-to sections of my favorite book is the Book of Psalms. In it, a shepherd turned king pours out his heart to God. I love the word pictures. And I love the raw emotion.
The Book of Psalms reads like a personal journal rather than a book of advice and encouragement (the book of Philippians). This book shows me the internal wiring of a man who loved God but still struggled with daily living in a very rough-and-tumble world.
Just read this from Psalm 35:11-16, NLT:
Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
They repay me evil for good. I am sick with despair.
Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.
I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.
But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they slander me constantly.
They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.
Don’t imagine David wrote those words while grinning from ear to ear, do you?
May I encourage you, even as encourage myself, to follow David’s pattern of journaling honestly about emotions? And may I also encourage you to turn that journaling into a prayer?
Confessing our “dark” emotions to ourselves and to God keeps them from festering and leading us into actions that would grieve our loving, seeing God. Let’s allow God to help us live emotionally healthy lives rather than plastering over the hard parts of life with smiley faces.
Remember with me these beautiful words written by David and found in Psalm 56:8, NLT: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
God sees. God listens. God heals. And that we can celebrate with JOY.
