The Opposite

“…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” 2 Corinthians 6:10

What’s the opposite of joy?

I’m glad to receive some wise teaching at church. My pastor has said that if you ask God for patience, He’ll probably give you situations to learn patience. If you ask God for wisdom, you may well end up needing to make some very difficult decisions.

I started this year (and this blog) with the desire to search out this joy thing and the feeling that I would learn a lot. I didn’t expect the opposite. It’s been a great year, but it has also been an oddly difficult year. I’ve been surprised how often I’ve had to push through feelings of negativity and even despondency.

Paul seemed to get this. On more than one occasion Paul wrote sorrow and joy in the same sentence. He wrote joyfully from prison. Through hardships he found great riches in his soul and in his work. He knew what it meant to learn and express joy in the opposite context. Paul and his friend Silas once rejoiced their way out of prison.

Habbakuk’s stoic statement shows that he also understood that joy is possible, even when there is no evidence to support it.
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 I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
(Habbakuk 3:17-18)

I am beginning to realise that those who show joy, real and consistent joy, aren’t that way based on some chance of disposition. Rather, perhaps they have learnt their lessons through pain and difficulty, without bowing to self-pity and doubt.

God is a good teacher, and even better, He is a faithful Father. He has been with me in each moment, often reminding me that joy is only a breath away. First comes trust, and faith – then joy can come.

How is God using your current challenge to achieve the answers to your prayers?