Unspeakable Joy 无法形容的喜悦
Author: Sis Tan Bei Fen
“Though you have not seen him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
During my recent cell with the DSK group discussing the topic of “A New Story for Work” using Timothy Keller’s “Every Good Endeavour”, one of the questions which we discussed in the group was, “is there a significant difference between you and a Non-Christian co-worker? If so, what is the main difference?” After the lesson, this led me to ponder, “is there a significant difference between a Non-Christian and myself in this world?”
1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” It is the unspeakable joy that we have in God that makes us radically different from others - we have something to hope for and this drives our attitude and action to living a purpose-filled life.
However, sometimes we do not really strive to live a purpose-filled life as God has intended for us. We find ourselves immersed in chasing after the same things that non-Christians do - climbing social ladder, building our own walls of fame, and more. There are even aspects where non-believers can sometimes outdo us, such as the act of doing good works or even striving to lead their own purpose-filled lives. During one of the sharing sessions in my 小 youth cell, my youth was sharing how routined and mundane their lives are. They do not feel any joy or purpose in the midst of their hustle lives, especially for those who are taking their national examinations. I, too, also fall into this trap at times when things get tough and become overwhelmed by the busyness of my work and commitments. There seems to be no joy in whatever I do, sometimes I will wonder late at night when all these will end after experiencing 4 to 5 hours of sleep for a few weeks in a row.
As David wrote in Psalm 16:11, “in your [God’s] presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” To receive joy, we have to intentionally carve out time to invite God to be involved in our lives. Having joy does not mean that at that point of time there is no suffering. You can still be joyful even in times of suffering. During these times, I was reminded by my mentors to spend time with God because I was too busy “performing” and not building my relationship with God. I was encouraged to pray to receive this joy and satisfaction in God as I continue to serve and carry out my work. And indeed, like what John 16:24 says, “until now you have not asked for anything in my name, ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
So if you are feeling unmotivated, stressed out, depressed or even anxious, I would like to invite you once again to enter God’s presence because it is only in Christ Jesus whom we can receive this unspeakable joy that differentiates us from non-believers.
文:陈琲棻姐妹
翻译:王佩瑾师母
“你们虽然没有见过他，却是爱他；如今虽不得看见，却因信他就有说不出来，满有荣光的大喜乐；并且得着你们信心的果效，就是灵魂的救恩。”
在最近一次与DSK小组聚会中，我们借着 Timothy Keller的著作《每次美好的努力》讨论“工作中的新故事”这个主题。其中问到的一个问题是，“你和非信徒有什么区别？不一样的地方在哪里？”小组过后，我不禁沉思于“我和这世界上的非信徒有什么差别？”
彼得前书1:8-9写到，“你们虽然没有见过他，却是爱他；如今虽不得看见，却因信他就有说不出来，满有荣光的大喜乐；并且得着你们信心的果效，就是灵魂的救恩。”我们在神里面所领受的，那无法形容的喜悦便是让我们与他人截然不同的地方-我们因为有盼望所以变得有正确的态度和能量去活出一个富有意义的生命。
但有时候，我们并没有积极地按照神的旨意来过好我们的生活。我们会发现自己和非信徒一样-沉浸在追求社会地位，或是名利等等。在行善或是有目标地过生活等层面甚至还不如非信徒。在一次与小youth小组的分享当中，组员们透露出他们觉得自己的生活枯燥乏味。忙碌的生活并没给他们带来任何喜悦或意义，特别是那些忙于准备大考的组员。我自己也偶尔会因为面临挑战，繁重的工作及生活的压力，而陷入同样的困境，不论做什么都没有快乐可言。有时，甚至会在夜深时想：一连好几个星期，每晚只睡4，5个小时的日子何时能结束啊。
正如大卫王在诗篇16：11里写到“你必将生命的道路指示我。在你面前有满足的喜乐；在你右手中有永远的福乐。”要拥有喜乐，我们需要刻意的分出时间，邀请上帝来到我们的生命当中，参与我们的生命。拥有喜乐并不代表没有痛苦，但是在痛苦当中，我们仍可以有喜乐的心。在那艰难的时候，导师们提醒我要多留点时间，与神共处，因为我太忙于“表现”了，并没有建立我与上帝之间的关系。他们鼓励我，在继续服侍及工作的当儿，祷告祈求上帝赐给我喜乐，并且在祂里面得到满足。果然，就如约翰福音16：24所写的， “向来你们没有奉我的名求什么，如今你们求，就必得着，叫你们的喜乐可以满足。”
因此，你若是感到缺乏动力，压力很大，沮丧或是焦虑，我想邀请你来到神的面前，因为只有在耶稣基督里我们才能领受那使我们与非信徒有区别，无法用言语形容的喜悦。