Joy—Even When There’s a Lot Going On

April 26, 2023

The photo is a screenshot from my phone calendar on a particularly busy time at work a few years ago. I remember that day well.

You can’t see it in the screenshot because I removed the overlapping meetings between three o’clock and four o’clock and the double-booked four o’clock to five o’clock slot because those meetings had someone’s personal information in it, but I was clearly coming out of an overscheduled day and headed into another.

Usually, at the end of the day, my calendar would show me my upcoming meetings for the following morning. And if the next day was light, it would show me the entire next day. It was a great feature. It gave me a heads up about tomorrow.

Not this time. There were so many appointments, the phone just decided to let me know I was going to be busy.

I felt a bit overwhelmed to say the least.

I also felt happy when those few days were behind me.

Have you ever had those days? Do those days sometimes turn into weeks or months?

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Times like that don’t have to be schedule-driven. For me, that same feeling can happen when I have only a few, or sometimes even one thing that tries to crush everything else I’ve got going on. Could be a very difficult phone call. Or the anticipation of having to clear up a misunderstanding—especially when I’m the one who did something because of what I thought was happening and learned I was wrong.

And don’t even get me started on blood draws. My mom passed on her “hard to stick” veins. Really, I don’t know if it’s genetic or not. I just know she had that difficulty and so do I. I drink way more water the two or three days leading to a blood draw than I normally drink and still it’s a challenge.

I sometimes let the feeling of dread or being overwhelmed steal the joy of the hours and days leading up to the event.

One way I try to battle this problem is to talk myself into having the courage to tackle whatever is coming my way, no matter how daunting it may seem. I mean that’s the wisdom of the day, isn’t it?  You know… “Put your big boy pants on.”

There’s a better way.

Jesus.

At one point during His ministry Jesus sent out 72 (some early manuscripts say 70) followers to meet with people and perform miracles in the towns ahead of Jesus. He gave them power over Satan and sickness.

They must have performed many miracles because of what they said when they returned.

“Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!’” (Luke 10:17, NASB) 

That was huge. I know how I feel when I’m facing daunting situations and things work out well. I’m happy when things eventually work out well. I can imagine how much more joyful it was for these missionaries to overcome evil and work so many miracles in Jesus’ name.

But pay attention to what Jesus tells them.

“’Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.’” (Luke: 10:20)

You see, it’s not that we are able to get through difficult times. And it’s not even that we overcome really tough situations. It’s really not about success in having dreaded something and coming out on the other side—even when we’ve done it by trusting in Jesus to get us through it.

The 72 did all those things and more, and Jesus reminded them of where their joy should actually reside.

In Him! It’s okay to celebrate a win. There’s no issue with recognizing that we relied on Jesus’ strength to get us through. But our real and lasting joy is in a close relationship with Him—even when there’s a lot going on.