Living in the light of Joy
Joy is sometimes hard to come by. We all desire it, but our negativity bias and accumulated disappointments over the years decrease our capacity for joy. Our tendency is to notice negative data more than positive. We allow negative events and outcomes to have a more significant impact on our lives than positive ones - that is our negativity bias. Life has many disappointments and setbacks, but as we age many of us begin to expect more disappointment, shrinking back from the emotional risk of feeling joy. Perhaps you are feeling this reality this Christmas. You desire joy, but disappointment is what feels close, so you cue up Blue Christmas and Last Christmas.
Isaiah offers a beautiful vision of the future in which sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Living in light of this future enables us to experience joy today, but it requires us to be intentional.
Faith is our capacity for joy
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:3-4, NRSV
Isaiah’s direction to strengthen hands and knees is a call to personal action: trust that God will rescue. This is the equivalent of reinforcing our faith. Our faith in God’s future restoration gives us the capacity for joy today because it means the good we rejoice in is not meaningless, and the disappointment is only temporary. Joy in a broken world is no longer a fool’s errand. Instead, rejoicing aligns with the authentic future to come.
Joy comes to the humble
As a minister, I have had the privilege to attend many weddings. Have you ever noticed who usually has the most fun dancing at a wedding? It’s often an elderly couple who doesn’t care one bit about what others think. Having the humility not to care what others think is essential to letting yourself go and enjoying dancing. It’s true for a lot of joy. When we are no longer caught up in ourselves, we can discover joy.
God’s work of restoration brings transformation that is impossible without God. The blind shall see, the lame will leap for joy, and the barren places of creation will be filled with life (Isaiah 35:5-6). These outcomes are impossible without God. When we accept our need for God, it produces a humility within us that opens us to joy.
Are you willing to be foolishly joyful? It will require humility, but the laughter and happiness you long for will be found when you dance like a wise old couple or with the abandonment of a child. Don’t be paralyzed by being self-conscious or weighed down by entitlement. Instead, find joy.
Rejoice in the good
The Christmas season can bring disappointment for me because my mom and grandfather have passed away, and Nana’s dementia has left her confused. My mom and her parents are central figures in my joyful Christmas memories. Mom was an excellent gift-giver, Grandad was the life of the party, and Nana never met a person she didn’t like.
One of our traditions was to watch A Christmas Carol, starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. Scrooge’s transformation is what we want to aim for. He becomes capable of delighting in the good despite the brokenness all around. As he throws open the window on Christmas morning, realizing it’s not too late. He delights in people, rejoices in generosity, and finds joy in being merry with family and friends. This is not because the world has changed - he has changed. And we can change too.
Change can be hard. Disappointment and our negativity bias can block our progress, but we can set small goals that lead to big change. This Christmas, despite the brokenness all around, take the small challenge to delight every time you see Christmas lights. It rhymes, so you’ll remember it! But even more, it will let you practice your faith in humility as you rejoice in God’s future where sorrow and sighing flee, and creation is set right.
