I crawled on the airplane just wanting to collapse. For over a month, I had been in the hills of Northern Thailand working with missionaries and was now heading back to Taiwan . . . I was wonderfully bumped from next-to-the-toilet-class to first class. As I melted into the luxury of those big couch-sized seats thinking of how much Jesus knew I needed rest, the young lady next to me struck up a conversation. She was returning from Pakistan to continue her studies in the U.S. She poured her heart out about her disillusionment with Islam. I shared the Good News of Jesus. Suddenly I realized that my exhaustion had been replaced by excitement. Heaven had something other than rest for me; Heaven had joy and all of its restorative energy waiting for me.

I hear much discussion about the joy of the Lord. "The joy of the Lord is my strength," we sing, to overcome the enemy and to defeat the temptations of the flesh. Churches have funny ways of trying to get this joy. I have been to churches all over the theological map. I have been to the churches that roll on the floor laughing; I have been to churches that "pump up the jam." One hung a disco ball from the ceiling, and in the midst of praise and worship, they turn on the dance floor light show. Some of these churches wouldn’t know a quiet song or a meditative note. They seem to think that unless the music isn’t at a mind-jarring rate and the decibels aren’t brain-numbing, it isn’t effective.

Many think of joy as a cloak, a mantle that you just pick up and put on whenever you are down, similar to an attitude check. Many think God is wanting us to be Pollyannas who, despite reality, act happy. "If we set our mind on only the good things, then we will have His joy," I am told. For many, as the popular song sings, "religion is a smile on a dog." The true joy of the Lord is what we need, not our own manufactured, imitation brand.

True joy is a gift that He gives us as we draw close to Him. As we draw close to Him, we begin to feel His emotions, both the devastating and the refreshing. The pain and the joy.

Missionaries are some of the most blessed people. Do not look on a missionary with pity, for they share in the joy of Heaven, as they rescue those who have been in darkness and bring them into the light. Yes, there is terrible pain in the Heart of God, as He sees those without life and hope, and He shares His emotions with those who are in tune with Him. But, ah, what joy when through the combined partnership of our testimony and His Spirit’s conviction, one lost soul is brought into safety.

Go out with tears

Return with joy

(Psalm 126:5-6)

All of Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents (Lk. 15:7). Heaven’s joy can be ours if we involve ourselves with His rescue of the peoples of the world. This is the joy that was set before Jesus, enabling Him to endure the cross. Jesus expressed this heavenly joy when His disciples came back from their mission trip with reports of the Kingdom of God’s expansion (Lk. 9:21). Scripture says He was filled with the joy of the Spirit. Why? Because His heart rejoices when we expand the Kingdom and rescue His lost sheep. He exclaims how fortunate are they who see these things … What had they seen? The destruction of Satan’s death grip and the freedom that only the Kingdom of God can bring.

So many are trying to figure out how to make music upbeat, so we can be glad. Others are trying to figure out how to psychologically keep ourselves in a mindset of joy. Neither will work. We don’t live in a music video, nor can we rely on words of affirmation to keep our spirits happy. Joy is a gift that God bestows upon those who are intimate with His purposes on earth. When He is sad, we should serve Him by making Him glad. As we bring those He loves so dearly into the safety of the Father’s house, the joy of heaven rains down on us. It is a high, like no other. It isn’t temporal or candied; it is so deep that it brings tears to one’s eyes. We are weak because we don’t have His empowering joy. We will be strong in the joy of the Lord, if we follow His plan of rescuing the perishing.

(Proverbs 11:30; 23:15, Nehemiah 8:10)