Close to thirty years ago, I was mowing the lawn with the small tractor I inherited from my grandfather. D.B. Leatherwood was a famous lawyer in upstate South Carolina, but to me he was Pop. We were close. I grew up with only a rolling hill separating me from the house he lived in with my grandmother, Nene.
Pop was a self-made man. Orphaned at an early age and raised by his older sisters in the hills of North Carolina, he worked hard to earn a law degree from the University of North Carolina. He moved to Greenville to open his practice, and that’s where he met my grandmother.
Pop didn’t show affection, but I knew he loved me. On late summer afternoons he’d hit fly balls to me down the hill. His batting was pristine. I don’t remember him ever even fouling a ball. At dusk, as the cicadas began their serenade, he’d invite me up for a Pepsi and a bowl of cashews and Fritos. We’d sit in between the massive white columns on his front porch and “watch the world go by” along the busy street in front of his house.
As I navigated Pop’s old tractor around our small plot of grass, I thought of him. He took such good care of us when my father moved out. In my mind’s eye I could see him cutting our grass with his brimmed hat and plaid shirt, leaning in to keep the tractor balanced on the hills. He was like a father to me.
Remembering Pop that day, I felt what I must call joy. It was deeper than happiness and more than just a feeling. Briefly, the difficulties of balancing leading a young family, with four children, and a stressful IT job appeared insignificant. My joy became an eternal, larger-than-life experience.
Looking back, I recognize part of the sweetness was the nostalgic remembrance of my childhood, but the gladness and joy stemmed from my relationship with Pop and our mutual love for each other.
My encounters with joy seem to always involve a loving relationship, mostly with God, but also with the people I cherish.
The Joy of Loving
Scripture confirms how tightly coupled love and joy really are.
David, who loved God with a passion well documented, wrote in Psalm 16:11 (NASB) “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
When David was with God, soaking in His presence, he experienced fullness of joy.
David’s loving worship dripped with joy.
“For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done. I will sing for joy at the works of your hands.” (Psalm 92:4)
And David’s continual posture of loving God brought joy to his heart and gave him courage, especially in the face of many difficulties.
As Saul’s men watched the house to kill him, David wrote to the Lord, “But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your loving lovingkindness in the morning.” (Psalm 59:16).
Our love of God, which extends to others, fills our hearts with joy.
The Joy of Jesus
Jesus showed the interwoven connection with loving and joy in His life.
After Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)
He went on to say that if we loved others in the manner in which He has loved us, two amazing things would happen: We would live in His love, and His complete joy would be ours. [1]
And concerning Jesus’s joy, the love connection is clear. In Hebrews, we read that His love for us gave Him the joy He needed to endure the cross and secure our salvation.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
The Challenge
Check your heart. At this moment, circumstances may be pleasant, or you may face hard trials. Are you encouraged or discouraged? Do you have courage or not? Courage, fueled by a joyful heart, is what we need each day.
Where do we find joy? It’s very easy to seek it from the world’s commodities: fortunate circumstances, pleasantries, and fleeting affections that promise much but produce nothing but pain.
Do we depend on the happenings of life to keep our hearts glad? Certainly, there is much in this life to enjoy, but genuine joy, the kind that yields lasting strength and courage, comes from loving God first and then loving others as He’s loved us.
When this occurs, we taste the freedom God desires for each of us, freedom to love and truly enjoy what He’s given us.
Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15:9-12).
In these verses the requirement to love for us to experience joy cannot be clearer. May we determine to fill our days in worshipful love of God, thanking Him, praising Him and adoring Him. May we bask in His lovingkindness and love Him with everything within us. As we love and draw near to Him, joy overtakes us because He is fullness of joy.
Prayer
Lord, if I’m not careful, my heart gets attached to my circumstances. When this happens, my courage to face life’s challenges wanes and flows based on my sense of how I’m doing. You have repeatedly directed me to love. This redirects my heart to You, my fullness of joy.
May I continually yearn to praise, thank, and love You each day. Please help me slow down enough to listen to You and to love the folks You bring my way, even those who hurt me. For this is the example You set for us when You washed Peter and Judas’ feet.
When I love, You fill my heart with gladness and joy, giving me the courage to face what comes my way.
When I stray from this single focused determination to love, please guide me quickly back.
I love You, Lord.
Amen.
“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b NASB).
[1] John 15:9-12
Other posts in our series In the Moments:
Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing
Exploring Grace and Joy together
Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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Nonfiction books by the Author:
Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.
For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy
Novels by the Author:
What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time
By finding two undelivered letters in an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains
Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.