Many things come into mind when one thinks about Joy. For instance, when a baby is born, when someone passes an exam, during graduation, weddings, or even when victory comes your way, and many more. It is a time in life when someone feels something good or fulfilling has happened in life. In one way it may relate to merrymaking, feeling happy, or just being excited.
You may have experienced a similar situation to the Israelites when the Egyptians were pursuing them in the wilderness. The Israelites felt as if their life was coming to an end. It reached a time when they were coming so close to the sea as they were wandering in the wilderness that the Egyptian army started pursuing them (Exodus 14: 1-14). As the Egyptian army came so close, the Israelites were filled with fear and started crying to God and even started regretting and accusing Moses of letting them leave Egypt.
At this point, Moses, who was leading them out of Egypt, cried to God and God insisted that the Israelites continue moving forward. As it was happening, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who instead continued to pursue the Israelites. As the Egyptians came closer, God instructed Moses to stretch his hand over the sea, and God created dry land in the sea, and the Israelites crossed safely. As the Israelites continued to cross the sea on dry land, the Egyptians did not give up pursuing them. Here, God rescued the Israelites by letting the Egyptians drown in the sea after the Israelites had crossed safely (Exodus 14:15-30).
At times, such experiences recorded in Scripture are unbelievable. For instance, someone may ask how is it possible to cross the sea on dry land by just stretching a hand over it? or how can God let human beings die by letting them drown in water? It may even sound that God justifies revenge over our enemies, but gradually as is unfolded in scripture there is also that challenge that Jesus put forth that we should love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
I once met an older woman from our tribe who told me that her grandparents shared a similar story as that of Israelites crossing the sea as they were growing up. Interestingly, the story was shared a long time ago, even before the missionaries came to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Kenya. The older woman said that the missionaries were so shocked to learn that such stories were narrated to people long before they had arrived. It was a coincidence, maybe as the older woman noted that there are possibilities that our ancestors interacted with the Israelites as they were migrating or even, they were among the Israelites.
Such a story may also point to that of Christ in the African religious thought especially when we think of preexistent Christ as clearly expressed in the prologue of the Gospel of John that, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being” (1: 1-3).1 Also, it may mean there was an earlier indigenization of Christianity in Africa before the arrival of missionaries.
Other than the questions, interpretations, and the application, at times in life, we are faced with similar situations as that of Israelites’ life. There was a time when almost everyone I was working with turned against me. It was clear that that was the end, and I will lose my job. One of those against me told me that I was so lucky that I did not lose the job, but that was not the end; instead, they never gave up on me. I kept on wondering why all this was happening to me. It was a traumatizing experience, but I kept praying for God’s intervention. With time, God intervened, and it became a great relief for my family and me.
At times, God acts gradually, and with time, you realize that the same way God rescued the Israelites is the same way God can rescue you. Such situations in life are worthy of celebrating the joy that God brings in our lives. Miriam and the Israelites sang with joy after crossing the red sea and being delivered from Egypt. It is one of the many times Israelites celebrate with joy after winning battles. It is recorded, “Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15: 20-21).
Continually celebrating the joy that God brings in our lives is required of Christians. It also constitutes believing, following, and serving God. Christian faith and practice are rooted in a life of victory wrought in salvation through Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. It is recorded,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Maybe it becomes difficult to continuously celebrate the joy God brings in our life because we forget that some went before us and overcame. Looking up to role models is crucial as they can testify and share how God brought joy in their lives. On the other hand, the burdens we carry, we ought to surrender them to Jesus and do away with the entanglement of sin that surrounds us. In forgetting to do all these, we sometimes forget to focus on Jesus as our key role model in living out the Christian faith.
It is important to remember when Jesus was born; it was declared that joy had come to the world. In the Gospel of Luke, it is reported, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (2: 10-11). It is why Christians celebrate Christmas every other year, and in fact, even the non-Christians are always caught up in celebrating the joy that God brought to the world.
It is clear when reading the Gospels, we see people celebrating the joy God brings in their lives through Jesus’ ministry. For instance, the adulterous woman who was nearly stoned to death, Jesus comes at her rescue (John 8: 3-10), the Samaritan woman at the well gets to know about the living water who is Jesus (John4:7-26), tax collectors get a new lease of life in leaving their former corrupt life, for instance, Matthew who became the disciple of Jesus (Matthew 9:9-13), and above all sinners being forgiven and the list continues. That does not just end there, but even after Jesus had ascended to heaven, people continued celebrating the joy that God brought in their lives.
The joy of the Lord should then be our strength as Christians. Nehemiah notes, “and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (8: 10b, c). Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is supposed to sustain and enliven Christians in their life despite the circumstances they go through (Galatians 5:22). Holy Spirit as the helper or the advocate is always with us to bring the fruit of joy into manifestation. Jesus promised to send Holy Spirit to help the Christians and be with them (John 15: 16-18).
In David declaring, “you show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16: 11). It was after God had rescued him from death. The preceding verse reads, “for you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit” (Psalm 16:10). Seemingly something terrible had happened in the life of David, but God intervened and rescued him from the pangs of death. The enemy planned to destroy the plans of God in David’s life and lead him into the pit and Sheol.
David is amongst the many who trusted in God’s salvific work. As he celebrated the joy, he discovered the path of life that I feel is the preexistent Christ. Later, it was fulfilled when Jesus declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Here, Jesus as the way is the fundamental role model that we look up to in finding the truth that sets us free (John 8:32, 36). That is how Jesus brings new life to us because without him setting us free, our life becomes hopeless.
Also, in David declaring that in the right hand of God, there are pleasures forevermore, it means the joy that God brings in our life is eternal. We share in the joy of the Kingdom of God here and now, and we will share it in the coming Kingdom; it is eternal. This Joy is connected to the victory that we continually experience here on earth in the many battles that we encounter, and we will finally conquer death as declared by Paul, “For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15: 54).
God’s critical plan is to bring salvation to humanity and all creation. We all trust in God whom David trusted in, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ who brought salvation to the world. Salvation is both instantaneous and gradual. It is recorded, “He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again” (2 Corinthians 1:10). Challenges are bound to come in life as they happened to David. David was a man after the heart of God, but you can see what unfolds – he was headed to the pit but was rescued by God. Being a Christian is not a life of bread and butter, as some would perceive and convey the message of Christ.
I’m reminded of Catholic feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson’s beautiful words.
Taking time out from grimness of daily life, people gather to sing and praise, to share and be joyful. It is a sign of resistance, for in effect, they are saying that their spirits are not crushed; hope is alive that someday they will be free of this oppression. To yield to despair is to let the oppressor win. To come together to celebrate, rest, delight, sense the presence of God in all things, and taste the promise offered by the resurrection of Christ is to engage in profound opposition of destructive forces.2
In celebrating this, joy is a sign of resistance. We are resisting oppressive systems as Jesus resisted the oppressive system of the day in the society, not by war or force, but we are saying our Spirits are not crushed, hope is alive! Our hope is anchored in Christ. We should not yield to despair for the oppressor to win because we sense the presence of God. However, it is not an easy task for we engage with destructive forces. Paul warns, “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6: 11-12).
We are supposed to continue declaring and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, despite the challenges we encounter. For instance, David declared and shared the good news of what God had done, despite all he went through. We should not be ashamed of the Gospel, for there is salvation and power in it, which must be both in word and deed. As Christians, we need to continue rescuing people from going down to the pit in creating spaces for the marginalized, the oppressed, rejected of society, and those perishing in sin. Through this, the path of life is exemplified in Christ, the light that shines in the darkness.
I laud all those who work tirelessly to create alternative communities where the rejected feel loved and accepted. Jesus’ vision was to create an alternative community, too, mainly rooted in the ethos and teachings of the sermon on the mount. For instance, we are reminded, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).
We ought to be the light that those who have not heard, and experienced Christ will find the path to life. Here, the fulness of Joy is fulfilled, for the world needs to share in it, as salvation is for the whole world. Being amongst those who celebrate and share with others in this eternal joy means being on the right side of the sheep rather than the goats, and it is declared,
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; (Matthew 25: 31-34).
Oscar Lugusa Malande is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Vihiga Yearly Meeting in Kenya and holds a Master of Arts in Religion and Certificate in Entrepreneurial Ministry from Earlham School of Religion. He is a doctoral student at the University of Birmingham, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Oscar currently teaches at Friends Theological College Kaimosi in Kenya. Oscar is married to Zipporah Adema Mileha and they are blessed with four children, two girls, Axtel Imali and Georgia Muhonja, and two boys, Samuel Malande and Jay Riggs Mulindi.
- All biblical references are to the New Revised Standard Version.
- Elizabeth, Johnson A. Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 142-143.