BONUS! Reason 101: Joy of the Spirit

100 Reasons I've Retired

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! Philippians 4:4

I’m going to share a secret with you: My life has been full of joy. If you’ve followed my blog for more than a minute, you know that the past thirty years have appeared, on the surface, to be anything but joyful. Care of an ill husband for two decades, parenting an adult on the autism spectrum, coping with a rare visual disorder, and working too many jobs to pay a mountain of medical bills don’t seem to be causes for joy.

But they are. Because the Lord was always with me. Even in the darkest of times—the night of Ron’s horrific car accident, his sudden death—I was never alone. And now, as I enter the next chapter of my life, I am one hundred percent certain the Holy Spirit is guiding me.

There is an intense connection between joy and the Holy Spirit. St Augustine calls the Holy Spirit, “the living love flowing between God the Father and Jesus his Son.” The Holy Spirit is God’s gift of love to us. John Piper says, “The Holy Spirit is God’s Joy.”

I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

It’s hard to explain this, I know, but once I began to listen—really listen!—to the leading of the Spirit, I was convinced that the time to retire was now and that there was other work for me to do. There were some moments of panic; I had been a teacher most of my adult life. Could I be something else? I had supported my family on my teaching salary for a long time. Was there another way?

Charles Stanley has two pieces of advice when it comes to the Holy Spirit:

1. Say YES to the Spirit.

2. Believe and Obey.

Now that I have officially retired (as of June 14), I am saying YES. I am Believing and Obeying in the new work he has called me to.

And in those simple actions, there is a deep sense of peace and joy. The Greek word is chara, and it is more than simple happiness; the word embraces an inner delight and gladness, one not based on our current circumstances but rooted in our souls. Commentaries state, “Joy is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord.”

All is well. It always was. Even in the worst of times.

It is well with my soul.

Have there been times in your life when you felt or heard the calling of the Holy Spirit? What does the joy of the Spirit feel like to you?