Carry On Blog | Finding Joy
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
I can't remember ever not loving the Minnesota State Fair. When I was a small-town 4Her, the State Fair was my yearly chance to spend several nights staying right on the fairgrounds, seeing the fullness of what Minnesota had to offer, meeting others like (or very unlike) me. As I got older, it became a chance to experience all sorts of strange foods and curious entertainment. Once my children were born, the fair reintroduced me to the wonders of rabbit shows, midway rides, and parades.
When the fair was cancelled last year, I understood. I grieved, but I understood. This past spring, when things seemed so hopeful, I talked a big game about how I would be at the fair every single day to make up for lost time. As I write this post, the fair has not yet started, but the surge in covid cases driven by the delta variant makes my original plan seem less likely. I’ll go, but not as often or for as long as usual. I’m still excited to go but it feels a lot like my joy is getting chipped away little by little.
Words like “joy” and “peace” and “hope” get thrown around a lot by Christians. They’re so pervasive that we don’t even really know what we mean by them all the time. A seminary professor of mine believed we shouldn’t even use words like them in sermons or prayers, and that we should instead describe what we mean rather than assuming a word will explain it. When Romans prays that we might be filled with all joy and peace so that we may abound in hope, those words can feel a bit shallow – especially when it feels a lot like the struggles of the world keeps chipping away at whatever joy, peace, or hope might actually be.
Whatever joy, hope, or peace might be, this verse reminds me that they’re not dependent on me or whatever’s happening around me. Our God is “the God of hope”, the one whose very existence and providence grants us the promise of life today, tomorrow, and always. Our joy and peace come from believing, not necessarily experiencing, rooted in a trust that God’s promises endure through and beyond our struggles. We abound in hope not because we have talked ourselves into it, but because the Spirit’s power works in us when we find ourselves powerless.
It might be hard for me to think about joy right now as I consider another pandemic-altered year of State Fair. But I know it’s not my job to feel happy in the face of disappointment. I know that ultimately, joy comes from trust in God’s love and promises. That can carry me through.
That, and hopefully, some fresh deep-fried cheese curds.
Let us pray:
God, we find ourselves feeling sad, frustrated, or lost when we know we’re supposed to live in joy, peace, and hope. Send your Spirit that we might trust in your promises no matter how we feel, and show us the joy that is the life we know in your Son. Amen.