In an era where our senses are perpetually bombarded by the digital and the mundane, finding true joy can often feel like an uphill battle. The insightful poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once remarked, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God,” yet how often do we pause to embrace this grandeur, to bask in the divine delights that permeate our existence? For believers, the beauty and joy of the world around us are not just manifestations of a generic deity but the tangible expressions of our loving Father’s heart. His creation is a canvas of paternal pleasures, an invitation to delight in the Giver of every good gift.
Yet, caught in the whirlwind of life’s demands and distractions, we often find ourselves numb to the wonders that beckon our hearts toward heavenly joy. We bypass sunrises, overlook the simple pleasure of a well-brewed cup of coffee, and rush past the myriad of ways our Father reveals His love and goodness. C.S. Lewis rightly dubbed the pursuit of joy the “difficult discipline of hedonism,” for true joy demands our attention, our intention, and, most importantly, our devotion.
Battling the Barriers to Divine Delight
Our journey toward joy is fraught with obstacles. Greed tempts us to hoard and overindulge, turning God’s gifts into idols that never satisfy. Self-focus draws us inward, making us the center of our own universe, thereby diminishing our capacity to revel in the beauty and goodness of God’s creation. And familiarity breeds contempt; the miracles that once stirred our wonder become commonplace, fading into the backdrop of our busy lives.
The antidote to these joy-stealers is not found in mere human resolve but in a heart captivated by the beauty of God, a heart that sees every good gift as a reflection of the Father’s love. Like Augustine, whose heart was restless until it found its rest in God, we too must cultivate a passion for the presence of our Beloved, recognizing His handiwork in the ordinary and the extraordinary.
The Discipline of Joy
Cultivating joy is a discipline that requires us to look beyond the immediate, to see the eternal in the temporal. It demands that we shake off the lethargy of custom and awaken to the loveliness and wonders that surround us. The Psalms, with their poetic prowess, beckon us to marvel at the world through the lens of divine revelation, to see trees as towering testimonies of God’s creativity, the sun as a celestial celebrant of His glory, and the sea as the playground of His imagination.
But joy is not merely a matter of perception; it is a matter of participation. We are called not just to observe but to savor, to immerse ourselves in the pleasures of God with gratitude and wonder. This is where theology meets doxology, where the study of God leads to the worship of God. As we delve deeper into the truths of Scripture, as we allow the beauty of Christ to captivate our hearts, we find our joy in Him increasing, our distractions diminishing, and our lives reflecting the glory of the One who is the source of all true delight.
Living Awake to Wonder
In a world that constantly vies for our attention, choosing joy is an act of rebellion against the mundane, a declaration that we will not be satisfied with the superficial. It is a commitment to live awake to wonder, to see every moment as an opportunity to encounter the divine. This is the difficult discipline of joy — a discipline that leads to life in its fullest, a life saturated with the grandeur of God.
So, let us rise to the challenge, shedding the scales of greed, self-focus, and familiarity that blind us to the beauty around us. Let us approach each day with hearts open to the myriad ways our Father seeks to delight us, for in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). In embracing this discipline, we find not only the joy we seek but the very heart of God, who delights to be found by those who seek Him with their whole hearts.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Faith Activist
Featured Image by Elmer L. Geissler from Pixabay
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