The Faith that Brings Joy: When Life Gets Its Color Back
Faith is not just comfort in pain. It is the source of the deepest joy that exists.
There is a false image of faith that paints it as always serious, always solemn, always heavy. As if believing in God were synonymous with giving up joy.
But one only needs to read the Bible carefully to discover that image is completely wrong.
Paul Sang in Prison
Imagine being unjustly imprisoned, with your feet in stocks, in the darkness of a Roman cell. That was what Paul and Silas were living through in Philippi.
And then the Bible records something that seems absurd: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God." Not groans. Not complaints. Songs.
That joy does not come from circumstances. It comes from something deeper than circumstances. It comes from the certainty that there is a God who does not abandon.
The Joy the World Cannot Give
Jesus promised something specific to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you." The Greek word used is "eirene," deep peace, complete, that transcends understanding.
The joy of faith does not depend on everything going well. It coexists with difficulties because it has a source that does not depend on the world.
Getting the Color of Life Back
If life lost its color for you, faith can be the way back, not as an anesthetic, but as a light that reveals everything in its true dimension. The colors have not disappeared. Sometimes we just need to learn to see them again.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
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