Home Pastors 5 Guideposts on the Road Back to Joy

5 Guideposts on the Road Back to Joy

Leaders are not spared from this truth.

“Christian joy is not an escape from sorrow. Pain and hardship still come, but they cannot drive out the happiness of the redeemed.” (Eugene Peterson)

It’s not wise for us to assess or judge the level of what others call suffering in their lives, but just tend to what is in our own lives and do our best to live it out well.

Certainly, we are not called to seek suffering, and life itself brings enough our way.

In a certain way, suffering brings definition to joy and makes the depth of joy all the more beautiful.

The joy of the Lord is our strength! (Nehemiah 8:10)

3. Joy is always new.

I can’t say this better than one of my favorite authors, Henri J.M. Nouwen, from his book, Lifesigns.

“The word ‘ecstasy’ helps us to understand more fully the joy that Jesus offers. The literal meaning of the word can help to guide our thinking about joy. ‘Ecstasy’ comes from the Greek ‘ekstasis,’ which in turn is derived from ‘Ek’, meaning out, and ‘stasis,’ a state of standstill. To be ecstatic literally means to be outside of a static place.

Thus, those who live ecstatic lives are always moving away from rigidly fixed situations and exploring new, unmapped dimensions of reality.

Here we see the essence of joy.

Joy is always new. Whereas there can be old pain, old grief, and old sorrow, there can be no old joy. Old joy is not joy! (Henri Nouwen)

Joy is always connected with movement, renewal, rebirth, change– in short, with life.”

4. If you have been wounded, give yourself time to heal.

We have acknowledged that joy can exist in pain and sorrow, but this is not meant as a badge of honor to wear.

Again, suffering is not something we seek. I’m writing about it because it’s part of the human condition.

Therefore,

  • When you are hurting, give yourself time to heal.
  • When you are exhausted, take time to rest.
  • When you are carrying tremendous pressure, ask for help and let God carry what you can’t carry.

Joy helps the process of healing and is multiplied in the healing.

Further, joy is not something you must seek or cultivate alone; there are times when God intends for the overflow of another’s joy to be poured into you.

And He intends for you to receive it freely.

5. Healthy habits, more than ecstatic moments, are the practices of joy.

God is the source of your joy, but there are everyday practices that cultivate that joy and allow you to experience it to the full.