“…Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:8

Joy Unspeakable

I watched a video today of a young man who has Down syndrome. It has always been his heart’s desire to sing the national anthem at the beginning of a Cubs baseball game. I don’t know the story behind it, but one day he got his wish. I watched him sing that anthem with pride and boldness.

Tears streamed down my face as he sang. He never missed a note, though some were wavery and perhaps a smidge off key. No matter. He finished well, and the sellout crowd went wild with cheers and applause when he sang “land of the free, and home of the brave.” I wanted to stand right there at my dining room table, and honor him with applause of my own.

My first thought was that he had great courage. If he was nervous about the crowd, it didn’t show. You’d have thought he was a seasoned performer. When the coaches and players greeted him personally both before and after he sang, you’d get the impression they were old, dear friends, with hugs, handshakes, and conversation all around.

Or maybe, for just a few minutes, he wanted to be somebody that gets noticed for having special abilities. Someone that has a great privilege that most people never have. Not in a self-centered way, but in a way that someone might desire when they had spent a good part of their life being treated as less-than. He was, at least at that moment, living freely in the land of the free.

But what stood out to me the most was his joy. He was the happiest man alive for a few minutes. He was living out his dream—the one thing he most wanted out of life.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I could say I have that same joy in the Lord. Expressive. Bold. Sincere. Happy. The joy that brings laughter and singing and jumping. That throw-your-head-back and spread-out-your-arms-and-twirl kind of joy. That deep-down, nothing-can-take-it-away joy.

This is the joy God offers us. It isn’t the momentary joy of living our dream—although I think that young man probably experiences joy on many levels—but it is something intrinsic in knowing God. Even though we don’t currently see Him, we have inexpressible joy that is full of the glory of knowing Him. “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

And one day, we WILL see Him, and the joy of that day defies description. We will not be singing the national anthem, but we will be singing with great joy.

“Oh God, how we long for the joy of Your presence. Open our eyes, that we may see You Who dwell among us; open our ears, that we may hear the shouts and laughter of this inexpressible joy. Amen.”