Fighting for Joy

We don’t wake up every day in a good mood. We may find ourselves facing a day we do not want to meet and conversations we do not want to have. A lot of us dread what may be around the corner. We may dread the attitude our kids give us upon waking. We may fear a project deadline. Maybe we are too exhausted to meet the day. Each day brings its triumphs and its tragedies. How do we fight to remain joyful, despite the events and challenges of the day? How do we stand firm in the convictions we have developed as believers, work out our faith, and endure all things with joy? We fight for what we believe in. We fight for what we think is true, beautiful, and right, and we fight for what we love. Jesus tells his followers in Matthew 6:34, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” We do not know what each day will bring; all we can hope for is an idea, so we plan and make provisions for what may come.

One thing we can count on is that we will have to fight for joy because some of the things we will face will be less than favorable. The apostle Paul realized seeking joy didn’t come naturally, and he gave the church in Corinth some things to think about as they fought for their joy.

First, Preach the Gospel to Yourself

As stated earlier, we may have to fight sometimes for the joy we have in Christ. This fight is active, not passive. We can’t expect to be joyful if we don’t engage in the active process of being joyful. Evangelical author John Piper provides helpful words regarding this fight:

Well, God does not mean for us to be passive. He means for us to fight the fight of the faith-the fight for joy. And his central strategy is to preach the gospel to yourself. This is war. Satan is preaching for sure. If we remain passive, we surrender the field to him.^[i]

What does Piper mean when he says, “preach the gospel to yourself”? This saying could be confusing at first, but I think it provides a deep and rich strategy when it comes to the fight for joy. To preach the gospel to yourself means you actively convince yourself daily of the power of the gospel. At times the gospel will seem foolish to us. Paul realizes this when he writes to the church in Corinth, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

It may seem foolish to forgive your enemies, yet the gospel can set you free to do so. It may seem foolish to deny yourself and take up a cross, yet the gospel gives you the strength, through the Holy Spirit, to do that. It may seem like the most foolish thing in the world to follow Christ, yet the very power of God dwells in those who do.

When we tap into the power of God, we set our hearts on the joy we can find only from a loving Father. We have to fight for this joy and preach this “foolish” gospel to ourselves every day. C. J. Mahaney gives some practical advice with regard to the process of actively preaching the gospel to ourselves. He writes, “Reminding ourselves of the gospel is the most important habit we can establish.”^[ii]

We may not understand the gospel and how it affects our emotions because we do not remind ourselves daily of the gospel. The gospel message is not something we hear at the end of a sermon on a Sunday morning, and it is more than a tract we leave in a bathroom stall. There is more power in the gospel message and the God that it reveals than all the world power and short-lived kingdoms in the history of the world. Many Christians do not understand the implications of the gospel message, nor do they experience its power in their daily lives. Constantly reminding ourselves of the gospel truth is a must for Christians who meditate daily on the promises of God. Reading the scriptures through the worldview of the cross transforms our emotions, our decisions, and, ultimately, the way we look at life.

I wake up every morning and pray a prayer like this: “God, I will ruin this day on my own. I need to recall and remember what you have done for me in the gospel through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” This prayer is more than a mantra or a checklist. It’s a personal conviction that stems from a personal God who has changed me in incredible ways.

Paul Tripp writes, “No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do. It’s a fact that you and I are in an endless conversation with ourselves.”^[iii] Take a minute to think about this statement; we indeed talk to ourselves more than anyone, and we have more influence on ourselves than we realize. The question we have to answer is simple: Is Jesus and his gospel a part of the daily conversation we have with ourselves? Our spiritual growth will move incredibly fast when the gospel moves from a set of principles in which we believe to a message we preach to ourselves daily.

The enemy will have a tough time convincing us of untruth when the preaching of the gospel to ourselves already occupies the pulpit of our hearts. Our ability to preach the gospel to ourselves is linked to how much we will find joy in the day-to-day experience. Why? Because the gospel points us to someone more prominent than what we may experience today. The eternal message of the gospel swallows the temporary experience of life on this earth, even the most devastating experiences. Preaching the gospel is the most effective way to fight for joy.

But this life is not just about us. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, reminding them of this fact: they were not alone. You see, we not only preach the gospel to ourselves, but we are a part of a larger gospel community—the church.

Listen When Others Preach the Gospel to You

A thousand different voices bombard us throughout the day, and not all of their messages are bad. The marketing community works overtime to sell and distribute a thousand different words in an attempt to convince us, the consumers, of the power of the word or the products they are selling. The church in Corinth experienced the same with the different communications during the first century. The people of Corinth had a wide variety of religious messages from which to choose.

David Garland writes about what the Corinthian church faced with the onslaught of different religious messages and worldviews:

Most persons could accommodate all gods and goddesses into their religious behaviors, and they could choose from a great cafeteria line of religious practices. Many believed that there was safety in numbers: The more gods that one appeased and had on one’s side, the better.^[iv]

The Corinthian church faced some of the same pressures and questions we face today: To which voice will we listen, and which voice will have the most influence on us? The mistake many Christians make is they spend too much time listening to the voices of today and too little time listening to the voice of God.

Paul enters into the conversation with the church at Corinth and offers a gospel-laden insight. He tells the church that he is a worker for their joy. One of Paul’s main objectives was for the church to understand the joy they possessed in Christ. The gospel message was not something they only preached to themselves; Paul and others came alongside their faith and preached this gospel message. We need the church to remind us of the one message that strengthens our faith, the gospel of Christ.

As we live life in a community of faith, we remind each other of the most beautiful things—we worship and sing as an example to others around us of the faithfulness of God. We serve and teach as grace enables us to encourage and help one another grow in the faith. Our minds do not have the natural inclination on their own to seek God and the good things he brings.

Paul continually reminded the church to think about the good things of the gospel. He instructed the church, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).I don’t dwell on things that are honorable, but a faithful friend can remind me of these things. I don’t always think about the things that are lovely and pure in my life, but God has given me a local body of believers who remind me to think and dwell on these things. I need others in the church, and the church needs me. We are needed by the church, especially when we have something from the gospel of Christ to share.

We preach the gospel to ourselves first, and then, from the overflow of that, we share with others in our community and the church. Why? Because we need to stand firm in our faith. Our world needs to see the power of the gospel through the faithful lives of those who are the redeemed of Christ.

One of the things we say in my church is that we want to be known more for what we are for than what we are against. Our communities may not have a favorable opinion of the church because we have had a message of condemnation instead of the message of the gospel. The more we preach the life-changing, life-giving gospel of Jesus to ourselves and others, the more joy we will have in our hearts to face each day and share the message of hope Jesus has given us. So, friend, fight for joy. Fight hard, and fight for others to experience the joy we all can find in Christ.

Excerpt from Gospel Shaped Emotions, © Kevin Wilson, 2019

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[i] John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004), 81.

[ii] C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross Centered Life (New York: Multnomah, 2006), 132.

[iii] Paul Tripp, New Morning Mercies: A Gospel Devotional (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2019), 35.

[iv] David Garland, I Corinthians: Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003), 9.