Cultivating JoyIhe Atụ

  

Joy Is Having a Faith

In the gospel, God promises forgiveness, eternal life, and a future filled with hope for the whole creation. If we believe that this is the greatest good news the world has ever heard, then there is no greater joy than the hope we have in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. 

Our faith in these great truths and promises can give us joy even in times of suffering or loss. Whether trivial or terrible, these cannot take away the inner joy that comes from the Spirit. Think of the prophet Habakkuk. As Israel faced an invasion, Habakkuk trembled with fear at the prospect of losing everything. Yet even in such circumstances he trusted in God, and he expressed his joy in that with a remarkable affirmation of faith (Habakkuk 3:17-18). God gives us a robust joy that withstands suffering. 

Now, we must distinguish between Christians who need some encouragement to hold onto their joy in the midst of life’s ordinary struggles and those who suffer from clinical depression. Depression is a real, devastating illness, with physical and psychological causes that need professional medical care. To people struggling with depression, we shouldn’t say to “cheer up, snap out of it, and be joyful in the Lord.” That is insensitive and may add to their suffering; being joyful in Christ is exactly what they long to do, but can’t. Loss of joy is one of the worst symptoms of depressive illness, and getting joy back isn’t just a matter of trying harder. Depression is an illness, not a failure or a weakness. 

At the same time, I know many Christians among my friends and family who suffer from depression, and they testify to the fact that they still have their underlying assurance of the truth of the gospel and the love of God. Knowing that God can be trusted even in the darkest hour means that they can know joy as an objective fact or truth, even when they don’t have joyful emotional feelings. Poet William Cowper suffered terribly from depressive illness, and it was out of that experience that he could write lines such as, 

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 

But trust him for his grace. 

Behind a frowning Providence, 

He hides a smiling face. 

That’s why Christian joy as the fruit of the Spirit is not just an emotion, but flows from faith in God’s promises in Christ.  

From Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit by Christopher J. H. Wright.