September 21
September 21
Human beings were created for joy; that’s why we are always in search of it.
Consider some of Jesus’s final words to his disciples: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Jesus will soon leave his friends and ascend to his Father, but he wants to leave them with joy. God created human beings for joy. He made us to celebrate the pleasures of knowing, loving, and serving him. He designed us so that we could enjoy the pleasures of the beautiful world he created. He created us for the joy of loving community with one another. There was no sadness or sorrow in the garden of Eden before the fall of Adam and Eve; there was only joy.
Since that tragic moment in the garden, human beings have been in a constant search for joy. We all hunger for it and look for it every day. Some of us hook our joy to our marriages. Some of us look to our children for joy. Some of us think our careers will deliver the joy we seek. Some of us think that assembling a big pile of possessions will give us joy. Some of us think that the height of joy is sexual pleasure. Others of us think that theological knowledge and biblical literacy will give us joy. And others look to ministry success for joy. You should celebrate the gift of all of these things, but they must not be the source of your joy. Each one of these things can disappoint you in some way. When I look to them for joy, my joy is always temporary.
The little book of Habakkuk is about waiting on and trusting in the Lord, even when you are confused by what he is doing, and it ends with one of the clearest statements in all of Scripture about where true, sturdy, and lasting joy is to be found:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. (Hab. 3:17–19)
Pay attention to the word picture here. If you are in an agricultural culture and there is no food to harvest and no cattle in the stalls, you are in dire circumstances. Yet, Habakkuk writes that he would still have reason to rejoice, because God is the source of his joy. The Lord’s presence, power, promises, and covenant love give Habakkuk reason for joy no matter what. Vertical joy is the only kind of lasting joy.
Notice the note at the end. Habakkuk’s joy poem is actually a lyric, meant to be sung. So, go out and sing for joy; God exists, and, by grace, he is your Father forever.