The Anchor of Joy

A letter has just arrived, and from what you’ve heard, it is a letter of promotion.

You anxiously unwrap it to see what is inside the envelope. True to the rumours, it is indeed a letter of promotion. And guess whose name is boldly written on it?

Yours.

Depending on how much you value the institution where you work, it would be joy, joy, joy all the way. In moments like these, we do not have to go looking for joy. Joy simply invades our souls and overtakes us.

Now let’s look at it from another angle.

You are given a major assignment, a task that, if successful, could earn your institution millions, enough to clear its debts and even bring a measure of comfort and prestige to the lives of its employees.

You work meticulously for months, putting everything together. Finally, a day or two before the presentation, everything is ready. You are prepared to make your institution shine before the world as you confidently present your proposal.

Then, just hours before the presentation, everything goes wrong.

A strange system failure wipes out all the information you spent months compiling. To make matters worse, you discover that what you thought were backup plans were not backups at all. They fail you completely.

In such a situation, can joy still be found?

Joy is more than an emotion. It is the wealth of life.

No matter what you do, how much you have, or what happens to you, your possession of joy, in increasing measure, ultimately determines whether you live as a success or a failure. The real treasure in life is joy. It produces enthusiasm, passion, hope, and the drive to keep going. It makes molehills out of mountains and champions out of weaklings.

In this life, dear reader, you are only as strong as your joy.

Your strength is not in the size of your muscles or your kung fu skills, although those may count in physical combat. It is not even in your wit or your IQ. Your true strength is found in your joy.

Perhaps many of us have been misinformed into believing that joy is simply a by-product of our circumstances. So we blame the sluggish waiter, the heavy traffic on a sunny afternoon, or the long queue at the shop for our lack of joy.

Of course, there is nothing pleasant about enduring hunger because of an indifferent waiter, spending what feels like forever in traffic, or standing until your feet ache in a long queue. But what can we really do about it?

We cannot wave a magic wand and make these unpleasant moments disappear.

Sooner or later, we all face difficult times, and they come in different forms and different degrees.

I once read about a man who never spoke badly about anyone in his community. That was simply how he had been raised.

One day, a notoriously mean and stingy man died. At the funeral, as custom required, people were expected to say something good about the deceased. For hours, no one could think of anything.

Eventually, this man arrived.

He looked carefully at the body for several minutes before finally saying, “I really liked his teeth. They were so white and clean.”

There is a passage of Scripture that beautifully simplifies our human experience.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that the temptations, or unpleasant experiences, we face are no different from those others have experienced.

What a comforting truth.

Think about it.

You are not the only one dealing with that sluggish waiter. Others are just as frustrated as you are. You are not the only one sitting in endless traffic. Countless others are sharing the same experience.

You are not alone, dear friend. You are in good company.

But the passage gets even better.

It tells us that God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to become greater than we can bear. And my favourite part is this: He will always provide a way out so that the temptation does not overcome us.

In seasons like the one we find ourselves in today, with all the uncertainty, hardship, and challenges around us, what we often need most is simply to see that way out.

Many times, it comes as a small insight.

Sometimes it is as simple as noticing how remarkably white and clean the teeth of that mean old man really were.

Strange as that may sound, it was enough to give someone a reason to smile.

And sometimes, that is all it takes.

That small glimpse of grace is enough to lower the anchor of joy into the depths of our souls and experience a joy that is not dependent on circumstances.

There will always be a reason to lower the anchor of joy because God is faithful.

May we remain open to the insights He gives, the kind that produce joy even in the midst of gloom, uncertainty, and chaos.