“Inside Out: Joy“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Sometimes life throws difficult thing after difficult thing at you. And as we have discussed over the past two weeks, our hearts and minds are impacted by this. Our emotions are how we respond to the external stimuli of life. As I have been contending in the past two weeks, our emotions are a gift in that we have the ability to reach out to God and others from our vulnerability and seek relationship, comfort and hope.

But the question that most people have asked me about life and faith is this: How do some people endure difficulty, stress and loss and still have joy in their lives? They marvel at a person with deep faith who is able to say that “God is good all the time” with a smile on their face even as that person has every right to be upset, depressed or even downright angry.

Joy is a wonderful emotion. We often experience it at high points in our lives. We often experience it as we share special moments with people we love. Joy is ultimately a communal emotion, I believe. You can experience happiness as an individual, but joy is something that comes from a relationship. How can people who go through difficulties still experience joy? Maybe it is because they have a deep and meaningful relationship with God who is the source of their joy — as they are reminded that He is with them each and every step of the way. And maybe, just maybe, they also are surrounded by friends in faith, who love them beyond imagine and support them through it all. For no one is poor or alone who is rich in friends.

—Mike Holly

The Word

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.

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