Dark Joy

So I haven't posted on this website in a while. I typically use my own website, but this is way easier to blog on.

I've been reading through a book that a friend of mine suggested called, "Champagne for the Soul" by Mike Mason. Overall it is a great book. In the book he talks about how basically it is our responsibility as a believer to be joyful in ALL circumstances. He says, "I saw that if joy does not arise out of the midst of tragedy, it will not arise at all. Christian joy is rooted in darkness, chaos, meaningless, sorrow." What the heck is he talking about? Joy to me never seems dark, chaotic or sorrowful. It seems happy. But I guess, the main this is deciding what is happy and what is joy. To me, being happy is a feeling that you get when something great happens to you or you do something that brings the feeling of happiness.

I'm not a instinctually joyful person. I don't wake up in the morning with a smile on my face. This is one of the reasons I am trying to grow in this area of joy. More trying to investigate what it takes to be joyful. Not happy, but joyful. Brother Lawrence once said, "I do not know what God wishes to do with me; I am always very happy." What I want to know is what did Brother Lawrence drink, or what was he taking that made him so joyful. I want that. I definitely am not a happy person by nature. Some people are, and I am not. I go through weird states of depression sometimes. Not major depression. I don[t always have such an optimistic view of life always. By the way, this is me being vulnerable. 

In this book that I am reading Mr. Mason basically suggest that Jesus was our example of joy. It is through His death, that brought His joy, which is found in the resurrection. If it wasn't for the tragedy, the latter miracle would have never happened. Easter is a joyful celebration. Churches across the country fill up on Sunday's to celebrate the joy that came from the death. Good Friday isn't necessarily so good. Maybe that is why it is called Good Friday, because we all know that joy that comes on Sunday.

I'll keep you updated with what I'm learning through the book. Til next time...