Joy

I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:11

In a yard two blocks from my house the trees are dying. For some time my wife and I, on our neighborhood walks, have noticed something wrong—fewer leaves on branches, peeling bark, a greenish white discoloration here and there. Two years ago it began with a large maple. Then the sickness spread to two evergreens.

Last night as we walked by, we saw just a few leaves scattered over the entire maple. My wife said, “I’m sure glad we don’t live next door.” Indeed, I felt like walking on the other side of the street.

A leader who regularly lacks joy can resemble those dying trees. Paul wrote, “Worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor. 7:10, NIV). God does not want anyone to live a grim Christian life or lead a grinding, heavyhearted ministry. Such leadership reflects a spiritual disease that can be contagious to followers, and it happens even in numerically successful ministries.

In this area of joy, leaders face two unique temptations.

First, we are tempted to link our joy to the progress we are making toward our goals and vision. We long to see God’s work move forward, and we rightly grieve over setbacks. Spiritual illness sets in, though, when we rejoice more in success than we do in the Lord or when we cannot rejoice in the Lord in the midst of ministry trials. Paul said of himself that he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10, NIV).

Second, sometimes we consciously or unconsciously want to signal our followers that something is wrong, like parents who occasionally must frown at a teenager’s study habits. If a wide gap stands between where our people are and where God wants them to be, at times leaders need to communicate that everything is not sweetness and light. But spiritual sickness sets in when a leader’s frown is unremitting, when a smile does not return after there is repentance. Then a leader’s hard look becomes destructively manipulative.

Jesus was a joyful leader who brought not only a serious mission but also his divine joy! Of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, joy holds the second position on the list—just after love.

Like a tall tree that is lush with green leaves and seeds, there is a vibrant spiritual health in a leader and a ministry that overflows with joy.

—Craig Brian Larson

Reflection

Am I predominantly joyful or sorrowful? If the latter, what are the root causes?

Prayer

Oh God, keep me from being a heavyhearted leader. When trials and difficulties threaten to rob me of joy or overwhelm me with anger and frustration, keep my eyes focused on you and my faith firmly rooted in your truth.

“anger is a joy killer. We simply cannot be grateful and angry, or joyful and angry. While joy is a gift, it is also something I need to choose.”

—Ben Patterson, pastor and writer