I’ve seen and heard many people explain ways we can find joy. But they all seem hollow; as if the answer is to figure out how to trick yourself into being naive about how bad our world continues to be. There’s even a TED talk showing a bunch of charts on how everything is getting better. The trouble is, why do we need to go to such lengths to find joy if things really are so good? Short answer: things aren’t so good.

Joy then seems idiotic. Why would we want to or think we should have some deep-seated joy in the midst of death, destruction, and injustice? Why would we be expected to be joyful? Information about everything is at our fingertips – about past and present. We are inundated with knowledge of just how terrible we can be. It feels like a weight I can’t shift – it isn’t getting heavier but neither is it getting lighter.

I’m not going to tell you that I have the solution to finding joy. I honestly think some people are predisposed to find it and others aren’t. Instead, I can say that Paul encourages us to “Be joyful in hope.” Hope in the promise of the return of the king (Jesus, not Aragorn – though he is pretty awesome too) and that he will wipe away every tear and bring justice to the land. I can latch on to hope more easily.

Call me a weirdo but I always liked the nobility of the elves (sticking with lord of the rings). They knew they would lose and have to abandon Middle Earth, but they kept fighting. The elves called it “the long defeat.” That really speaks to me; accepting the outcome somehow frees me to give it my all.

Think of it as expectation management. I can’t save the world, so instead I ask, “what can I save?” That naturally tempers my expectations. Who knows, maybe there’s joy lurking around there somewhere.