Move Towards Joy

Recently, I was reading the Psalms, and my heart was struck by these poetic words from the Psalmist:

As someone who (without God’s help) tends towards anxiety and fear of the future, these words struck me with deep resonance.

I often find myself somewhere in the middle of being overwhelmed with the cares of my heart and experiencing God’s consolations deep in my soul. If i’m not careful though, I can tend to be much more aware of my anxiety and fear than the ways that God is moving my heart toward joy.

Interestingly, the Psalmist uses the word consolation here, as it is the same word (in English) that the sixteenth-century St Ignatius of Loyola uses to describe the inner dynamic that occurs when the Holy Spirit moves our heart towards God in love, joy, worship, generosity, and gratitude.

This is the opposite of Igantius’s idea of desolation, which refers to times when our heart is moved by the evil one away from God, towards anxiety, fear, and depression.

(It is worth noting, especially in our day where being led by the Spirit can often be confused with being led by emotions, that Ignatian consolation does not simply mean happiness and Ignatian desolation does not simply mean sadness. Both concepts are much deeper and richer than this, and are best worked out over time in the context of a healthy community.)

What this Psalm means for me is that even when I am feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and burdened by the cares and stresses of life, I can trust the good work of the Holy Spirit to move my heart towards God in joy.

Here are two ways to move towards joy in the midst of whatever season you might find yourself in:

1. Throw a Party

I was recently struck by the words of pastor and anxiety expert Steve Cuss in a podcast that “anxiety and laughter can’t coexist.” He was commenting on how often the more anxious a family, group, or church is, the less often they laugh. And the less anxious a group is, the more often they have fun and laugh.

One way to counteract the cares of our hearts and the anxiety of the journeys we find ourselves in is simply to do things that bring us joy, like celebrating a good meal with community.

This is true on both a practical level — anxiety and laughter can’t coexist — but on a spiritual level as well.

I find it profoundly significant that the Bible ends with a wedding feast between Jesus and his Bride, the church (Revelation 19:9).

This is good news — no matter what situation we find ourselves in, the end of the story is that we will find ourselves as a wedding feast with Jesus, celebrating and rejoicing. The end of the story is good.

Any time we feast on this side of heaven, we are prophesying that we know the end of the story and that the end of the story is good.

What’s more, we are releasing a little bit of heaven’s joy into our present reality — feasting in the name of Jesus is always a piece of heaven on earth.

2. Trust that God Leads with Joy

One of St Igantius’s great gifts to the church is the understanding is that God actually leads us through consolation. According to his method of discernment, the Holy Spirit will actually lead us through feelings of joy and rightness.

I hope I don’t step on too many toes here, but I think it is such an unbiblical idea to say that “I don’t want to do something, so that means God is asking me to do it.” This is just not how the God of the Bible shepherds us — and it reveals that we might be thinking of God more as a harsh taskmaster or an army drill sergeant than a caring Father, a Bridegroom, or the Good Shepherd.

In between the ditch of just doing what feels good and the ditch of believing that God only asks us to do what we don’t want to do is the narrow path of “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

It’s the narrow path of trusting that God knows us, loves us, and cares about us enough to lead through consolation and joy. After all, reluctance isn’t a fruit of the Spirit, joy is!

God might be leading us towards something hard and formative — but can we trust that joy will be a part of the journey?

So, I’d love to invite us to pray today:

• Begin by taking some deep breaths in and out. Perhaps as you breathe in pray “Come,” and as you breathe out pray “Holy Spirit.”

• Once you feel settled, begin to identify: is there a decision, habit, relationship, practice or area of your life that seems to be shimmering with the joy of the Lord today?

For anyone who finds themselves in a season where the cares of their heart are many, I am praying with and for you! Feel free to hit “reply” and let me know if there is any way that I can support you in prayer.