Some people will spend their whole lives longing for joy but never find it. Others will find themselves at times grasping ahold of it only to have it somehow slip right through their fingers time and time again. Few people will every truly understand the meaning of joy and even fewer will hold on to it when they come face to face with fire. It’s one of the hardest things to comprehend as human beings—joy is not a feeling; joy is the lens we choose to see through. Joy is who we are. When the Holy Spirit lives in us, joy becomes a part of who we are, and we begin to see things, people, life differently. Joy never leaves us. The problem is, we as humans get distracted from this one simple yet elusive truth. Joy never leaves us, but we may at times unintentionally and unknowingly leave our joy behind.

Joy in a way is like gold. It’s precious, valuable, and highly sought after. Joy, like gold, is refined by fire. It seems counterintuitive, but when all is said and done, our joy will actually increase, due to our hardships. Why? Because our trials are making us stronger, wiser, more resilient, and most importantly, teaching us to rely completely on God. When met with adversity, however, that’s not how we initially see things. We are so blinded by our suffering, we can’t see the blessing. We can’t see that our joy never left us; God never left us; He’s been there all along, but we keep choosing to stray.

Whatever season we find ourselves being thrown into, we have the choice to endure with grace. We have the choice to mentally tap out or continue walking in our authenticity and our purpose. We have the choice to lean on substances, other people; or lean on God. We have the choice to let it destroy us or let it teach us. We don’t always get to choose our circumstances, but we get to choose how we respond.

I want to encourage you today to refuse to be consumed by the fire; instead, let it refine you. Our joy as humans does not exist in-spite of the fire; it exists because of it. It’s the fire that teaches you that though you may be burned, you will not be destroyed. It’s the fire that moves you to appreciate the coolness of the rain. It’s the fire that pushes you deeper into the arms of our Lord, the true and everlasting source of joy.