Real emotions vary, even in lives filled with joy
By Lindsey Michael Miller

Luke 22:42-44 Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

There is a common misconception in our culture as well as within Christianity that if we are not happy all of the time, there is something wrong with us. The truth is that most people are rarely happy all the time. Life has its highs and lows, and the lows are just as much a part of life as anything else.

As Christians, this is something that I think is crucial for us to understand, and I do not feel that the church does a good job as a whole in conveying it.

Many Christians believe that because they are Christians, they are supposed to be happy all of the time. It is true that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10), and we have freedom from depression in Christ (2 Cor. 3:17), but look at Christ in Luke 22:42-44. He is so full of grief and anguish in anticipation of his crucifixion that his sweat is like drops of blood. Some scholars believe that this can be interpreted literally since there is a condition as a result of extreme stress that causes one's blood to excrete through the pores like sweat; however, the point is still the same.

Jesus is not happy and cheerful. He is facing something more difficult than any of us could fathom, and he is so distraught by it that an angel comes to minister to him to give him strength.

If Jesus can be in grief and anguish over something, why is it that we force ourselves to unrealistically place masks and facades over ourselves to make others believe that we are always happy?

In fact, if you read the gospels, Jesus displays many emotions that are not happy or cheerful. He weeps openly when he hears of Lazarus' death, he becomes angry and frustrated with the Pharisees and his disciples and he spends much of his time trying to communicate with people who do not understand him.

We live in a fallen world, and we need to learn how to cope with the negative as well as the positive. The lesson to be learned from Jesus' life is that while we do not let the bad things that happen to us control us emotionally, we don't try to hide our true emotions either.

We all need to strive for a balance, and I'll start with the idea of joy first. We are invited to give our yokes over to Christ because his is light while ours is heavy (Mt. 11:29). We do not need to go through life carrying these burdens alone because He is there to help us along with them.

We should also consider everything in life a joy, including hardships and persecution (James 1:2), because all things work to the glory of God (Rom. 8:28).

However, joy and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is never promised in Scripture, and in fact, it is just the opposite at times (Phil. 3:7-11; Rom. 5:3; 1 Th. 3:4). Paul tells us that we will be persecuted, and to steadfastly endure this persecution for the glory of God (2 Tim. 3:4; 1 Cor. 4:12).

How many of us, when we see the slightest hint of trouble, flee to God and beg him to smooth over the waters and make everything okay? We are to share with Christ in his suffering (Phil. 3:10), not live in a "happiness bubble", denying the existence of pain.

Joy is the ability to give our lives wholly to God, trusting that all things will work to His glory. As a result, when we are not anxious about anything and bring our prayers and petitions to Him, He will give us His peace (Phil 4:6).

I think that right now this is my biggest struggle because I like having control and knowing what is going on all the time. If I can't figure everything out then there must be something wrong.

Recently, God has been telling me that I simply need to let go; I cry and pound my fists and throw my hands into the air and defy God, but He patiently waits as He pulls everything out from underneath me until I have no choice but to stand on Him.

Life is rarely peaches and cream, and we have three choices before us as Christians. Firstly, to ignore everything going on around us and in our lives and create a happiness bubble, ultimately becoming completely useless to God and blind to the world. Secondly, to become overwhelmed by the sorrow and the pain of our lives and the world around us, eventually drowning ourselves in grief and losing all ability for hope. Thirdly, to embrace life with its pain and problems, but daily submit ourselves to Him and trust that God is in control and His glory will be manifest through our lives (John 3:21).

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