Do you ever get tired of being a grown up? I sure do. I have moments when I just wish I could go back to the joy of my childhood when I didn’t know anything. So often, we equate joy with blissful ignorance. Why is that?
Personally, I’ve never found ignorance to be all that blissful, but is there a way to experience true joy and still be aware of all the evil that surrounds us? I can’t speak for others, but for myself that’s a challenge. It would be so much easier to retreat, to close my eyes and ears to the chaos and pretend like nothing is wrong.
But I’m not called to be an ostrich, hiding my head in the sand as though that would make me less of a target. No, I’m called to rise on wings of renewed strength and courage like an eagle soaring in the sky, facing danger without flinching.
Is it possible to follow Jesus with your eyes wide open to the darkness of the world and still experience soul-restoring joy? Is a life following God’s call all work and no play? Must we sacrifice our joy on the altar of awareness?
While there’s a time and place for serious business, I don’t think it’s a choice of “either/or.” There are too many examples in Scripture where joy figures into the story too prominently to be a passing fancy.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 31:25. Right away, if you know the Bible, you’ll recognize the chapter as what many people consider the guidelines for biblical womanhood. But in this instance, just because it’s addressed to a woman doesn’t mean the concept isn’t universal. The truth applies to everyone.
She laughs without fear of the future. That’s how the verse goes in the New Living Translation. Not, “she laughs because she doesn’t know the future.” She knows what’s coming. She knows she has no control, yet she’s filled with joy anyway.
Man, sign me up for that kind of confidence.
Where does confidence like that come from?
Well, to me, it comes from knowing the struggle that’s on the horizon, not hiding from it. It comes from understanding that this world isn’t our home, that as long as we’re here we’re going to have trouble. And it comes from truly believing that God has overcome the world. There’s no battle too big, no mountain too high, no darkness too deep, no fall too far that you or I or anyone can escape His grace. We don’t have to be blind or live in denial. We can face what’s coming head on.
We can laugh—have joy—without fear of the future, because we know both what’s coming and Who is actually in control.
So what do you say, friend? Even if 2021 is harder than its predecessor, which it could be, let’s not be afraid. Let’s not hide. Let’s rise. Let’s laugh, because we know how the story ends.
A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. She’d rather be barefoot, and if she isn’t, her socks won’t match. She is the author of seven novels, two novellas, and three devotional books, and her work has been nominated for the Golden Scrolls and the Realm Awards. A senior partner at the award-winning Uncommon Universes Press, Amy loves helping storytellers discover the genre-defying joy of speaking truth in fiction.
Daryl L
J.M. Hackman