In the closet I fall to my knees, curl into “child’s pose,” and drop my face into my hands. Rocking ever so slightly to and fro, my tears spill into my cupped hands – the ones curved just right to allow my sobs to escape. It doesn’t matter why I’m in the position or what has caused my torment. See… We’ve all been here. Some of you are here now. Perhaps you’re not in the closet. Perhaps you aren’t crouched in child’s pose. Maybe you are seated in an empty nursery, leaning against a wall. Maybe you have sunk down into the driver’s seat of your car that is parked in a remote lot in the dead of night. Or, maybe you’re pretending. You’re going through your daily routine like a champ, but numbness is setting in because your soul just can’t handle the onslaught of shame or despair that your current situation has left you with. It doesn’t matter the why. What matters is what happens next.
In this space of time, in your deepest sorrow, in this place where you wonder if you will even survive the next hour on the edge of the cliff known as complete hopelessness… this is when “she” arrives.
On the floor of the closet, I whisper a secret to the Creator of all. “Help. I can’t do this.” The Holy Spirit immediately quickens in my heart. I’m here. In that moment of invitation, I unknowingly open the door to the most unexpected best guest ever.
Joy enters the closet. She scoops my curled body into her lap and combs my matted hair away from my face with her fingers. She continues to rock me back and forth, but this swaying is of a soothing nature, not out of my own anguish. She lifts my chin and prompts me to look. I finally open my eyes and see Joy.
She is bathed in light. She is full of quiet confidence. Her smile is sure. Her face is peaceful. Her presence is serene. She knows no sorrow. Her eyes dance with amusement as she shows me what genuine faith looks like – feels like. Joy begins to teach me truth. It’s a truth built on the hope of heaven and not on any worldly disappointment.
Joy helps me stand, and she puts my feet on solid ground. She wraps her arm around my shoulders, encouraging me with every touch. She revives me. She points up when I start to look down. She gives me strength when I start to feel weak again. She renews my hope; she secures my peace. In that closet, Joy shows me that all is not lost. In fact, all has already been gained. This guest I just invited in becomes like a confidant I’ve known forever. Joy becomes my friend. I never want Joy to leave my side! She promises me she’ll never forsake me and will always guide me, moving me out of this closet of sorrows and into an abundant life.
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There is something else about Joy you must know. She has been marginalized by society, squelched by the limitations of our language, and minimized by our propensity to focus on our feelings and call them truth. She has been put inside a box labeled emotions. This limits Joy’s power. She cannot accomplish all that God created her to achieve when we package her alongside feelings such as excitement, pleasure, and gladness. We have to let Joy flourish beside us, inside us, and through us as we become less and the Holy Spirit becomes more.
Only believers can experience true joy, as it is a fruit of the Spirit, not simply a feeling held by us as mere individuals. Happiness and contentment are a couple of the emotions that spill out when we meet Joy and invite her in to stay. But, they are not the sum of Joy. God is Joy just as much as God is Love.
The secret to a life well lived is to find Joy in the journey. Here’s another secret. Those of you who are Christ-followers … you already know Joy. She’s waiting for you. And, to every one of you, she is one invitation away from joining you in your own closet.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, thank You for Joy. I am deeply grateful that You are joy as much as You are love. Thank You for the hope and faith that are born from Joy. I pray that every person who knows You invites joy into their hard places. I pray they find joy and peace within their difficult situations. And, I pray we all continue to decrease, so that You may increase. For those who don't know You, I pray they meet You and fall in love with Joy as much as I have. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Influenced by my prayer life, my book, Clay Jar Cracked, all the Scripture referenced in the devotion, “Beyond Evangelical” a blog by Frank Viola, A Joy that Lasts by Gary Smalley, and the following Scriptures (referencing the Holy Spirit):
Rom.
8:11
1
Thess. 1:6
Psalm
40:2
Acts
9:31
John
3:5-8
Titus 3:5
Eph.
3:16
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