Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
² The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
³ He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴ Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
⁵ Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

⁷ Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
⁹     before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity. – Psalm 98

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

Don’t you love when something significant happens twice, just in case you missed it the first time around? This weekend, I took a couple of Afghan girls to see the film Inside Out 2. They had been wanting to see it all summer and we finally made it happen. Being teenaged girls themselves, they were mesmerized by all the familiar emotions depicted in the film – joy, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, anxiety, envy, embarrassment, and ennui (boredom). We all counted on the sprightly “joy” character to help Riley, the girl in the film, hold onto the sweetness of her life in the midst of all that caused her distress. Joy! She had to work really hard to make sure Riley’s life was happy. [Great movie! Exhausting and exhilarating!]

YouTube Video – Inside Out 2 – All Joy Scenes Recap

Then the next day, Pastor Cliff preached on Psalm 98. The psalmist calls the people of God to worship their (our) King. No spectators here! All of creation sounds an anthem of praise to a righteous, merciful, faithful, and just God. The tone of this psalm was that of great joy…not buoyed by happy circumstances, but grounded on the presence and personhood of almighty God.

Therefore, no matter what’s happening in our lives – whatever emotions are evoked – we can count it all joy, when we walk with Him.

Writer, speaker Mel Walker defines Biblical joy as “choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction, because we know that God will use these experiences to accomplish His work in and through our lives.” He breaks joy down into 3 components:

1. God, Himself, is the source of our joy.
2. We can choose to respond to life’s trials with joy when we consider God’s purpose for those times of suffering.
3.  It is possible to have joy to the fullest even during life’s most difficult times.

Like in the film, we have conversations in our head, with God, and each other. We can’t always work out meaning or the why’s of our situations, and we’re tempted to default to the negative (and all the accompanying emotions). God calls us to look to Him to sort things out, and in trusting Him, we can enjoy that settled joy in our hearts. No matter what.

An example of a simple joy in my life is this: Jon Schmidt‘s arrangement of A Poor Wayfairing Man of Grief. It is an instrumental piece on my sweet husband’s Sunday morning playlist. I want to be up and out in the living room, coffee in hand, when it plays. This piece, all piano and strings, has several beautiful rises and falls. There is this one interval (starting at around 5 1/2 minutes) that builds to an incredible crescendo 30 seconds in. It strikes joy in my heart, every single time.

Simple, beautiful reminders of the God who loves us and will take us through all of life.

When the psalmist calls us to sing a new song to the Lord, here’s one: “That’s the Thing About Praise” by songwriters Benjamin William Hastings and Blessing Offor.

Worship with me…and count it all joy. Whatever’s going on right now, choosing joy is the way through. Hallelujah!

When the rain you want is a flood instead
And the roses bloom, but they’re not quite red
And when I reach the edge of my bravery
I’ll still be singin’ at the banks of an un-parted sea

Sometimes the only way through it is a hallelujah
(The only way through it is a hallelujah)
Sometimes the only thing to do is just to give it to You
(The only thing to do is just to give it to You)
And though my troubles shake me
I know they will never move You
Sometimes the only way through it is a hallelujah
(Hallelujah)
That’s why I say hallelujah
Hallelujah

There’s what I want and then there’s where I’m at
Every one step forward, it got me five steps back
And I cried, I called, God knows I prayed
But most days faith is climbin’ up a mountain that stayed

That’s why the only way through it is a hallelujah
(The only way through it is a hallelujah)
Sometimes the only thing to do is just to hand it to You
(The only thing to do is just to hand it to You)
And although my troubles shake me
I know they could never move You
Sometimes the only way through it is a hallelujah
(Hallelujah)
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)
That’s why I say hallelujah
Hallelujah

It don’t always fix your problems
But it’ll tell you how small they are
That’s the thing about praise
That’s the thing about praise
It won’t always move the mountain
But it’s good for the heart
That’s the thing about praise
That’s the thing about praise
You’ll never know what it’s gonna change
But it’ll always leave a mark
That’s the thing about praise
That’s the thing about praise
Yeah, I might see walls start fallin’
Or it might just change my heart
That’s the thing about praise
That’s the thing about praise (Oh)
That’s the thing about praise
That’s the thing about praise, woah

And the only way through it is a hallelujah
(The only way through it is a hallelujah)
Sometimes the only thing to do is just to hand it to You
(The only thing to do is just to hand it to You)
And although my troubles shake me
I know they could never move You
The only way through it is a hallelujah
(Hallelujah)

That’s the thing about praise
You never know what it’ll change, change, change
That’s why I say hallelujah
Hallelujah
Oh, that’s the thing about praise
You don’t even know what it’s about to change (You never know what it’ll change, change, change)
That’s why I say hallelujah (Hey)
Hallelujah*

*Lyrics to That’s the Thing About Praise – Songwriters: Benjamin William Hastings, Hang Bentley, Blessing Chibueze Offor

Favorite Moments and Quotes from Inside Out 2 – Down The Hobbit Hole Blog