The Secret to Joy 2.24.2022

     The old saying goes “do something you love, and you will never work a day in your life.” I believe that this truism needs one further caveat. Do something you love so much that you want to be the best at it, can think of nothing else, and are willing to put in the work to be constantly improving. That might seem a bit extreme, yet this commitment is ultimately the secret to the joy of preaching. 

    Throughout February we have had an insider’s look at what it means to be disciplined and creative throughout a long ministry. You might have expected joy to be the first secret. For any task worth doing joy is the outcome of sustained excellence. You may want it, but you can’t have it if you are not willing to put in the work. If you want the miraculous haul of fish you need to work the night through and then finally, act in obedience to Jesus. If you want to build a ministry which lasts, make sure that you use the best, flame-resistant materials because your work will be tested. Build upon the right foundation and do the work to get better year after year. Pretty soon you will realize that all that work is done with a whistle in your heart, if not on your lips. 

    My hook this month has been The Secret To…and the secret is, that there is no secret. There is no shortcut. There is no alternative to working hard and doing the best that you can do this week. Then, put that one behind you and work hard next week, then the one after, until the Inspector comes to see how well you have built upon the foundation. 

We are not all gifted in exactly the same way. For some of us the most joyous time will be that in the study reading, writing, exegeting, editing, working, and reworking until our best is ready to be preached. For others, the time in the study is necessary wood-chopping so that the fire can blaze brightly in the pulpit. Some of us hit the long ball. Some of us are solid line, drive hitters. Some have more natural gifts, others run out every ground ball and jump over the foul-lines every time they leave the field. We are not all the same, but we do have the same charge:

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:1–2 (ESV)

There is no greater joy than doing well that which the Master has called us to do. You have the skill. You have the creative impulse. You have the discipline to endure difficult times. Do the work. Preach the Word. Feel God’s pleasure.