Eugene Peterson’s book “Eat this Book” teaches us to chew on a passage of scripture, digest it, and then put it to use in practical ways.  Use this pattern of Bible study to go deeper into a conversation on finding joy in our lives in all circumstances.  Use the following ideas as a potential starting point.  

Eat

John 15:9-11 NIV  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

John 16: 24 NIV Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Chew

Joy is not always an easy attitude to have in a world that is full of situations and challenges that take us away from the exuberant happiness that exists in the joy as described by the Apostle John.  What does joy look like in the face of difficulty? When can we have delight if there is little that seems good? Or, how do we live in joy when life becomes limited by physical or mental debilitation?  The love that we are reminded of in the scriptures is a love that overcomes and can exist in us even in those moments of difficulty and pain.  The consistency of God’s love can provide comfort and an assurance that regardless of what we worry about, struggle with, feel overwhelmed by,  our God seeks to know us and offer joy, a rich pleasure in the living of life itself.  

Recently, Karen shared some thoughts about her perspective shift while dealing with the blood cancer that is taking her life.  She writes :

I am now 82 years old, living in a lovely room in an assisted living facility. I was very reluctant to leave my cozy apartment and my 100’s of books and computer.  I must admit that I didn’t believe that I could have a life of much value if I moved to one room…yet I have learned so much in the past six months. I have learned how many wonderful friends I have. I have learned it is possible to be so tired that I can sleep most of the day and all night.  I have realized that I can still be a politics nerd…I have learned that even though I can’t walk a step without my walker, I can still water my many gorgeous plants, make my bed, and keep my room clean and comfortable. I have
learned to enjoy magazine articles now that I can’t follow the plot
of a novel. While I hate being given a shower, I have learned to
be best buddies with the young woman who helps me take one 
a few times a week. Most importantly, I have learned that God will
provide for me in all situations.  He teaches me lessons from the 
strangest situations. He shows me joy and beauty where I never 
think to look. He reveals His grace when I most need it…and some
morning, I know I will not wake up in my lovely room, but instead
follow His steps into glory. 

How do we find joy in life?  We are reminded each day, in, as Karen shares, the “strangest situations” that we are loved by a God who cares for us deeply.  He desires for each of us a completed joy that comes through our confidence in Him in this journey called life.  

Digest

Brian McClaren, in his book Finding Our Way Again,  talks of opening our eyes and ears to God in our daily life as he discusses the importance of incorporating spiritual practices into our faith journey.  He shares that in “training ourselves to become the kinds of people who have eyes and actually see, and who have ears and actually hear” we are better equipped to see Life and the joy that can exist. As apprentices of Jesus, we seek to come closer to God and live in the Spirit that breathes through us.  In doing that, we become observers, seekers, aware of the power and potent energy that exists in the Present as well as the experience of our own journey.  

Some questions to consider in your own walk might be: 

• Use your five senses- see, smell, hear, feel, taste.  Where is God at work in your present day? What reminders are there of His desires and joy in you? What might you have missed along the way? Where do you see signs of His goodness? 

• Consider these synonyms of joy: exhilaration, triumph, jubilation, delight, rejoicing.  What place do they have in your current existence?  Where can you seek them more?  How can you add their loving presence in your life? In what ways could you seek them through your belief and faith in a Loving God?  

• Speed and activity-  in what ways might the speed of the passing of time in your current situation encourage or hinder the role of joy in your life?  Do you find more joy if you slow down?  Speed up?  Are you sleepwalking or potentially overcharged?  

More Food For Thought

“Repeatedly turn your attention to him, praising him for being in control of the word, asking him to intervene in matters on your heart, thanking him for the promise of his presence throughout the day to come.  Transform your normal activities into opportunities for communion with your Lord. Once you have gotten into this mode, you will not find it a problem to begin your day consciously in his presence.  This is not more work; this is joy. “  (Dallas Willard in Life Without a Hack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23)

“Life remains a tangled mess of beauty and suffering…I’m learning to be in the present. And while my struggles remain and I’m sure new challenges will present themselves, I feel hopeful for the future in a way I never have before.  I don’t fear what may come or not come in the same ways I used to. I’ve found in the simple, mundane moments of my life new opportunities to engage with the awe-filled, wonder-filled, consistently loving, grace-covered presence of God.  And it is enough. “  (Nathan Foster in The Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines)