Discover Hidden Joy in Times of Trouble

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried (or if you’re my age, possibly tinkled a bit)? The Mayo Clinic reports that laughter has both long-term and short-term benefits, including stress relief, an improved immune system, pain relief, and muscle relaxation. But, sadly, we are often so busy doing all the things that we discover it’s been weeks or longer since we’ve really laughed. Scripture also tells us to laugh. In Ecclesiastes 3:4 we see, "There is a time for weeping, and a time for laughter; a time for lamenting, and a time for dancing". This verse acknowledges the cyclical nature of life, including both joy and sorrow, and the importance of finding joy in laughter. If you’re not feeling very joyful in your life, laughter has a hard time getting out.

There is a lack of joy among too many of us today. This lack of joy stems from various realities, including life demands, overcommitment, job stress, family struggles, comparison, and similar factors. We weren’t meant to lament or weep all the time. We must be intentional about creating times of joy. Humans were built for joy. There are 242 references to “joy” or to derivatives (such as “joyful”) throughout the Bible. 242! That’s a lot of joy. God wants us to experience joy, even when it feels like the farthest possible emotion to express. I love how John states it in John 16:20: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but I will be comforted. Your sorrow will turn into joy. No one will take your joy away from you."

Regardless of what you are going through, you need to find and express joy. I remember when I was caretaking for my mom. She had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and had lost her ability to speak, eat, move her limbs, and she struggled to breathe. She required full-time care, and I spent half of each month, for two years, taking care of her. My mom was an extremely modest woman, and for her to rely on me to bathe and dress her regularly was not easy. You could see the embarrassment and shyness in her eyes. I wanted to make the task lighter and have a bit of fun, to help her relax, and hope to see her smile. I’d often make up silly songs, such as “do your boobs hang low . . .”, as I washed her and dried her off and got her dressed. She would soften, and I’d get a glimpse of her eyes glimmering with as much joy as she could express. Those were wins!

There are times, like when I cared for my mom, that it is so hard to find joy in anything. But joy and laughter can be healing. They bring a sweet reprieve from the responsibilities and create special moments. Seeing a glimmer of joy or a sweet smile from someone who is battling something makes it all worth it. At times, we have to dig deep to find that joy and to express it. As we see in Psalm 30:5, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning". The joy will come, and it’s okay to welcome it amidst a dark season. The joy you experience does not diminish any of the realities or hardships you may be enduring. The two, joy and pain, can and often live side by side. The joy can ease our pain and give us a glimpse of better days.

So if you are struggling today to find joy in your life, go find it! Go sit in a park and watch children run and play. Find a local establishment that has live music and enjoy the sounds and lyrics. Call up a friend and ask them to share something they’ve found joy in recently. Go watch a silly comedy show and just laugh. Joy is all around us, and we simply have to be open to receive and enjoy it. What is it today that you can do to bring you joy and make you laugh? Go do that!

I’ll leave this with

you today:

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

John 15:11