What does “Joy” mean to you? Is it being happy? Or just being content with your life? Just what exactly is Joy? I have been praying for more joy for some time now. So, I decided to research “Joy” from the context of what Jewish thought is on it. And, I found some rather interesting things about joy.
I found that there is an interesting concept called “Perpetual Joy” in some rabbinic commentaries. Perpetual joy seems almost impossible to attain . . . but is it?
What is Perpetual Joy?
Perpetual Joy is a concept that was founded by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). It was his belief that joy was, and is, a religious obligation. He founded the Chassidic movement where perpetual joy was one of the distinguishing characteristics. They also believe that it is a biblical command to be joyous with every experience.
“The ability to be joyous, by discerning the good and joyous within every experience, is considered by chassidim as a biblical command!” — Baal Shem Tov
Rabbi Baal Shem Tov made it his mission to bring the message of hope and joy to the Jewish people. At the time in which he lived, they were downtrodden. He wanted to restore joy to the people and he travelled from village to village to do so. One of the things he taught them was that joy is precious before God; and that they should serve God with joy at all times and in every situation.
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” -Psalm 100:1-2
Aspects of Perpetual Joy
Joy in His Presence
Another of his beliefs/teachings is that they were always in God’s presence because of the scripture, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) In recognizing that they were constantly in His Presence, they should always be joyful! Just thinking and believing that the Shekinah (God’s manifested glory) is always at your side and watches over you should make you joyful! In essence, we must experience greater joy serving God above all else.
Joyous Prayer
The Rabbi believed that, based on the Torah, joyous prayer is more effective in eliciting Divine blessings. This was the direct opposite of the concept about prayer at that time, which was “an exercise of sadness and weeping, fasting and self-infliction.”
Then, on the other hand, it was believed that not serving God with joy brought punishment! The scripture cited was Deuteronomy 28:47-48, “Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.”
Joy and Teshuvah/ Repentance
We’ve been studying Teshuvah/Repentance recently through Pastor Charlie’s teachings. Baal Shem Tov believed there was no greater joy than the knowledge that, “no matter how much you’ve messed up, no matter the grime your soul has accumulated, no matter how distant from God you’ve become (intentionally!), you still have the ability to instantly repair that which was broken and reestablish a relationship with God.” Teshuvah/Repentance is the “greatest and most powerful mitzvah (good deed) and must be done with the greatest joy.”
Is Perpetual Joy Possible?
Is it possible to see joy in every situation? There are MANY scriptures in Psalms that tells us that we are to have joy. If we trust in God, we should rejoice and be joyful!
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” -Psalm 5:11
One of my favorites is Psalm 16:11. Remembering that we are always in His Presence, because He is Omnipresent, should cause us to have “fulness of joy!” And, in the Strong’s Concordance, “pleasures” has one meaning that points to music! (H5276) “singing, sweetly sounding, musical!”
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” -Psalm 32:11
We should also be joyful because of His salvation! Salvation (H3444) doesn’t just mean “saved” in the context of going to heaven. It means SO much more than that: salvation, deliverance, welfare, prosperity and victory!
Other meanings are for health! Did Jesus not go to the cross for our salvation and provide for our healing? (“By whose stripes ye were healed” -1 Peter: 2:24) And that includes all of the other attributes of salvation as well. Hence, we should rejoice in all that His salvation provides for us.
“And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.” -Psalm 35:9
Psalm 51:12 says that joy comes with His salvation; “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
One way we can show that we have joy is to sing to God and make a “joyful noise” to Him. There are several psalms that tell us to “make a joyful noise” to the Lord. Here are a few:
“Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.” -Psalm 81:1
“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” -Psalm 95:1
“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto with psalms.” -Psalm 95:2
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.” -Psalm 149:5
When is the last time you sang aloud on your bed because of having so much joy? That’s something to think about! But, through it all, we should, as Christians, live lives of joy. What a difference that might make in the lives of those around us if we can stay in continuous joy! Is Perpetual Joy attainable? I think it is! After all, Jesus, Himself, said, in Mark 9:23, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
By Maribeth Alexander
