Passing on the Sunshine

So this week, the word God has laid on my heart is JOY. Not only is it one of the fruits of the spirits, see an earlier post about that, but it’s also one of my favorite girl names. Though, I think the Lord wants me to see it in a different context this time. I went outside today and sat down on a bench. I let the breeze wash over me and I felt the sun radiate on my face. It is the Perfect Day outside. I imagine that’s what Heaven will be like. A string of never ending, Perfect Days. It’s incredibly hard to be unhappy or sorrowful when the sun is out and shining. It’s no secret that days like this DEFINITELY put people in a good mood.

But what about the days when it’s not perfect? Both in weather and in life? When it’s raining, we can’t exactly sit outside and soak up the sun. You can try to sit outside, but I imagine before long, you’re going to get a little soggy. What about that joy we feel when it’s beautiful out? What happens to that? I know that I often left my mood be dictated by external circumstances: weather, work, school, stress. That joy I feel while basking in the sun is not often present when the storms of life come. Often I feel as if I’m clinging to the boat, like the disciples in Mark 4, crying aloud to Jesus because I’m terrified. I lose faith so quickly. I feel as if I’m sinking. I’m wondering where Jesus is through the midst of my pain. Well, in all truth, Jesus isn’t just going to walk through my front door and whistle a magic tune to make my life balanced again. But He does talk to me. He speaks to me through friends and scripture and as long as I cling to that, I am able to feel His presence. Of course that involves letting go of the boat and stretching out my arms. Have you ever been on a roller coaster? It’s so much easier to hold tight the seat that’s holding you down (as if it’s going to keep you in any tighter;) ). But the minute you let your hands go, you immediately feel free. You experience the rush of the twists and turns and you’re complete trust is in that seat to keep you safe.

Back to Joy: I came up with six words while sitting outside.

Joy, Joyful, Joyfulness, Rejoice, Rejoicing,

Joy: it’s a noun, it’s a feeling, a thing to be had.

Joyful: and adjective. This is a choice. You can choose to be joyful or sorrowful.

Joyfulness: Full of Joy. This comes after choosing to be joyful, it’s a state of being per se.

Rejoice: I look at this word and I often view it as a command. It’s a happy occasion when there’s a reason to rejoice!

Rejoicing: an active verb. I love this one! You’ve received joy and the command to use it.. This is a state of doing so! It’s impossible to fall into the trap of self pity when you’re constantly thanking God for His blessings!

Another Verse that comes to mind is James 1:2-4. I found a really good interpretation of these verses and I’ve pasted it below. I must say, I really do enjoy reading things verse by verse. It opens up a whole new meaning!

James 1:2 – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials

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1:2 – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
1:2 My brethren, – James immediately points to those he is writing to as equals. He never uses his position of authority as a position to abuse power. His humility as a servant is grounded in Christ.
1:2 count it all joy when you fall into various trials, – James’ first direct teaching looks, on the surface to be a paradox. How can it be joyful or even profitable for us when we meet trials? This entire passage focuses on the development of the Christian character.
Christians are not immune to difficulties and hardships, trials and general times of ‘dryness’. Good people can suffer bad things. In these times, though it is the common perception, it is not necessarily God who is testing us. Instead, there stands the point of view that God is allowing us to test ourselves, to reveal to us what is resident within our hearts. God knows what is in our heart, we do not. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
Count - to consider, think of it. Literally, to think of it as a joy when you fall into various trials.

Joy – from the Greek word chara (Strongs #5479) it literally means gladness and being joyful. Trials are the cause for occasions of which there is to be joy. Matthew Henry writes that “Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God.”

Each one of us is responsible for our reactions to the trials we encounter. The biblical wisdom of James’ message teaches us that by having a joyful spirit we can objectively look at the situation and grow from it. By allowing circumstances to weigh us down and negatively affect our mindset, our vision of the true nature of the problem becomes blurred and we are unable to deal fairly and correctly with it.

When we consider a circumstance with joy we will benefit from the blossoming of other spiritual fruits as our study of the next few verses will show.

when you fall – The Greek word for fall as used in this context is the word peripitoperi, “around”), hence it signifies to “fall” in with, or among, to light upon, to come across. See Luke 10:30 – “among (robbers)”. (Strongs # 4045) and Vines Dictionary defines it as “to fall around” 

into various trials – Quite often trials in our lives come across us, we don’t go seeking them out. In fact most people try to avoid any ‘hardship’. James expressly writes that we should not despise them, but rather learn from them and grow within our own Christian character. It is important to note that the temptation to sin is not from God. He never tempts any one to sin. It is against His moral attributes of holiness and righteousness. Man is responsible for his own sin, however what the enemy intends for evil God can turn it into good.

Trials – The King James version translates trials as ‘divers temptations’. That is ‘manifold temptations’. These trials are ones that have a beneficial purpose. They can be divinely sent (Lk 22:28; Acts 20:19; 1 Pet 1:6; 4:12), though God will not cause us to sin, nor tempt us to sin. Matthew 26:41 warns that we should watch and pray against entering into ‘temptations’ by carelessness or disobedience. God is able to provide a way of escape for ‘no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to, but with the temptation will make a way of escape’ (1 Cor 10:13). We find that God has a purpose for trials.

Going back to sitting in the sunshine: Since Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit and we are often called to rejoice, I have pondered a couple of things. If we are able to received Joy from God, shouldn’t we pass that on to others? If we can receive such pleasure from a simple thing like sitting in the sun, shouldn’t we strive to be the sunshine in someone else’s life? We all know people who are clinging to that boat, maybe having a hard time letting go. Perhaps we can be a ray of sunshine to them in their time of need. Perhaps we can be a glimpse of Noah’s rainbow, a symbol of God’s promise to His people. Some people call it paying it forward…I think I’ll call it Passing on the Sunshine.