Joy in Discouragement
“You sure have been complaining a lot recently,” I overheard recently.
The response was, “That’s because lately everything is so irritating!”
This interaction might illustrate many people’s sentiments regarding the past several months, if not longer. I know that in our household, January of last year began with COVID-19 quarantines during what was supposed to have been a hard-earned sabbatical for my husband. December ended the year with burying my father-in-law. Sandwiched between those two emotional and physically exhausting events were nine months of working and worshiping in makeshift conditions. Our church building sustained severe damage during an unprecedented ice storm that displaced the congregation from February until October. Interspersed in there was a fraught weekend awaiting cancer biopsy results (thankfully benign) and a rollercoaster ride of other unplanned but tense events. Many of you may have similar stories of discontentment, displacement, or disappointment when looking back over the past year or more.
The beginning of a new year often serves as a bridge between the old and the new. The calendar turn is a natural time to put the past in the rearview and look with anticipation to the road ahead. However, sometimes you want the past to be just that, completely passed by with no chance of return.
When we would rather erase the previous period of time rather than reflect on it, it may be that burnout, fatigue, or just plain discouragement is impeding our ability to feel anticipation or excitement about the future.
The movie It’s a Wonderful Life portrays how debilitating discouragement can be. In an early scene, a novice angel, Clarence, is being sent to earth to assist the main character, George Bailey. Clarence asks, “Is he sick?” The response is sobering: “No, worse – he’s discouraged.” Scenarios in Bailey’s life are then played out to the point of him wishing he had never even been born. Disappointments can evoke such extreme emotional reactions. In Scripture, even the faithful servant Job cursed the day of his birth (cf. Job 3).
However, it is still possible to have joy in the absence of lack. For those of us who may be feeling a lack of clarity or fulfillment, I want to remind us that we can still have joy.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 presents an admirable attitude to adopt:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights (NIV).
Notice the honesty expressed about the reality of the situation. The trees and vines show no sign of forthcoming plants for sustenance. There is no indication of future availability of animals to provide meat. If we, too, are looking into what appears to be a bleak future, we don’t have to be afraid or hesitant to state how dismal things appear.
Don’t stop there, however! Next, we can follow the example of the prophet Habakkuk by embracing an attitude of joyfulness.
Copy these positive statements: “I will rejoice” and “I will be joyful.” We must declare our intention. Then, do what is necessary to follow through, recognizing that the strength comes from God, not ourselves (“He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless,” Isa. 40:29, NLT).
Finally, remember times of God’s faithfulness. If finding examples in your own life feels too difficult, go to Scripture to jog your memory. Don’t allow life’s disappointments to distract you from the truth that God is faithful. Sarah and Abraham, for example, waited so long for the promise of a child that they even tried to assist God in fulfilling the promise. Ultimately, they were rewarded as God had promised, just not within their desired time frame (cf. Gen. 17:1-22). Focus on the fulfillment of faithfulness, not on the passage of time.
Joy is still available and attainable, even during times of difficulty and disappointment. Even when it feels impossible to go on, God still blesses and strengthens us. Obtaining joy may require more purposefulness on our part as we acknowledge our reality, embrace a joyful attitude, and remember God’s faithfulness. As in the words of the hymn “I Still Have Joy” by Dorothy Norwood, when we focus on the blessings and source of our strength we can wholeheartedly sing the chorus: “I still have joy ... after all the things I’ve been through, I still have joy!”
