Can we actually feel joy in times of anxiety? It seems impossible that we would be able to experience both emotions, or that joy could even exist in the same space as our worries… but it can. Here’s how…
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” (Psalm 94:19)
I know someone who gave birth very, very prematurely. Her son was born at a weight of less than a pound, what’s called a micro-premie. He is still in the NICU months later, his parents holding vigil in between caring for their other children.
What strikes me most when I read her daily updates on Facebook on her son’s progress and setbacks is that she never complains. She shares her fears and worries, and she asks for prayers. But she is not angry or downtrodden.
What she does is she shares her joy. She talks of the sweet moments when she was finally able to hold him. Her encouragement at every ounce gained, every step forward. She is so full of joy for this tiny little boy, despite the fact that life has changed irrevocably for her and her entire family.
Having a sick child in the hospital is perhaps the most scary and anxiety-inducing thing I can think of. My oldest was hospitalized for a week when she was 4 weeks old, diagnosed as “failure to thrive” It felt like my world was falling off its axis, yet it was a small blink in time compared to what this family and others go through every day.
How do they hold onto joy when anxiety is an ever-present companion?
Joy in the midst of worry
One thing that I have learned from my friend is that joy can be found in the anxious times of our lives. But we have to let go of the need to control, manipulate, and work our way through those tough times.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of believing that if we just try a little harder, do this or do that, then we can change things. And when we come up against something that we cannot change, that no amount of striving and pushing and hard work can alter, that’s when we find the source of joy. Not defeat, but joy.
We are not in control. We never were, but it takes circumstances that are completely beyond our power to realize this. Take it from me, a former striver-extraordinaire who relapses with regularity.
It’s in that moment of understanding our own limitations that we find joy in handing our hurdles and pains and anxiety to God.
Unlike us, He is in control. He is the one holding our sick children, our struggling finances, and our wayward spouses in his hands. It is God who comforts the lonely, the weak, and the forgotten.
God never changes. He is steady in an unsteady world. When every day could bring a frightening shock, which we can worry and fret over every minute if we allow ourselves, He is solid and unchanging. He is our rock. And by placing our faith and trust in Him, we can free ourselves of the burden of worry and allow ourselves to see the joy in our lives.
Because there is joy. We are surrounded by big and small moments of joy if we can look beyond the forever-swaying sea of troubles at our feet that cause so much anxiety, and instead cast our eyes on the rock-solid island of our Lord.
Only then can we look beyond the anxiety, and truly feel the joy.
Have a blessedly joyful Monday!
Looking for more encouragement and inspiration today? Check out these posts:
Scripture Verses That Combat Anxiety
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