No One Will Take Your Joy

I saw Top Gun: Maverick tonight. I’ve been waiting with great anticipation to see it since they first announced it would be coming out a few years ago. You see, Top Gun (the filtered version on VidAngel) is my favorite movie for multiple reasons. First, I know his acting can be cheesy, but I’m a big Tom Cruise fan. Second, I have so many memories of watching this movie with my dad. Third, I’m fascinated by what these pilots and planes can do and in awe that we have men and women who do this every day. And fourth, I have been to many of the places at which the movie was filmed. San Diego has been a family favorite vacation spot for many, many years. And it was tradition to watch Top Gun both before leaving for and while out in San Diego.

And so, I had high expectations for this next movie. It exceeded them all. Hats off to the director, producer, actors and actresses, and all who were involved in the making of this movie. Achieving what they did is incredible. It was hard to imagine that any movie could follow in the footsteps of the iconic Top Gun. But Top Gun: Maverick did. Of course, nothing will ever beat the original movie, but I can promise you that I will be watching this sequel over and over and over again in the coming years.

I’m sure you’re wondering how I could possibly tie Top Gun into a blog post so I’ll finally get to my point. I experienced so much joy watching this movie with my friends tonight, but I experienced pain too. I don’t mean to imply that I wish I had stayed home because I don’t. Even if I had known ahead of time the pain I would be in tonight, I still would have chosen to go see the movie tonight with my friends. And I still would have chosen to be on my feet almost all day prior to the movie, serving beside other friends at my favorite Christian camp. But those two choices meant that the nerve symptoms would act up in my legs and I would be in pain. The joy of serving at camp and the joy of the movie was tinged with pain.

And it wasn’t just physical pain. I cleaned my dad’s favorite room at the camp today. And I remembered how much he also loved this place. The people. The ministry. And he would have enjoyed this movie tonight just as much as I did, if not more. As scene after scene showed different sites in San Diego that my family had visited, I flashed back to some of my fondest memories with him. And I wished so badly that I could go back to San Diego that the emotional pain felt almost as sharp as physical pain. Joy and pain intertwined like a root system that couldn’t be untangled. And I realized tonight that this would not change on this side of heaven. Joy will be tinged with pain. I’ve lost my dad. And, at least right now, it seems that I have also lost my health. That God has asked me to accept this disease (whatever it may turn out to be) and trust Him through the intermittent pain and unceasing uncertainty it will bring until I join Him some day in heaven.

And as that realization dawned on me, a verse played in my mind on a loop. It’s been settling deep into my heart over the past few days and it took root tonight.

John 16:22 - So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

In John chapter 16, Jesus was preparing His disciples for what would soon occur. They were about to watch Him die on a cross, bearing a punishment He did not deserve. And it was going to be painful for them. There would be much sorrow as they watched as their Friend and Savior was horribly beaten, mocked, and hung on a tree and left to die. But in this verse He promised them that they would see Him again. They would rejoice again. And no one would be able to take that joy from them. And He told them a few moments later, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we haven’t felt the pain of physically seeing with our eyes the mangled body of our Savior hanging on the tree, bearing the weight of our sins. But we have felt the pain of sin’s curse. The emotional pain that comes with losing people we love. The physical pain that comes with bodies that do not work in the way they were created to. And so many other pains. But take heart, my hurting friends. Joy is coming. Jesus is coming. In this world you will have tribulation but Jesus has overcome the world. He has overcome the pain. He didn’t stay buried. He rose from the dead. He is alive. And He is coming back. And when He does, He will bring us to a day when joy will no longer be tinged with pain. No one and no thing will be able to steal any amount of our joy because we will see Him as He is. In the words of the great hymn-writer, Jim Hill,

“What a day that will be

When my Jesus I shall see

And I look upon His face

The One who saved me by His grace

When He takes me by the hand

And leads me through the Promised Land

What a day, glorious day that will be.

There'll be no sorrows there

No more burdens to bear

No more sickness and no more pain

No more parting over there

But forever I will be

With the One who died for me

What a day, glorious day that will be.”