Pursuing Joy

"In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain. If we do not communicate that he is the goal and the ground of our joy in suffering, then the very meaning of our suffering will be lost.

The meaning is this: God is gain. God is gain. God is gain." John Piper

I saw this quote as I was reading through some of my posts from last year. If you know me well at all, you'll know that I really love John Piper, and this is one of my favorite quotes. I can hear him, especially that last part, "God is gain!" It made me think though...

I know that I'm supposed to pursue joy, even in the midst of suffering, but do I really? In the midst of my suffering am I really thinking about the "all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy." Am I really looking for the ways that "God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain." Do I really even care about the END of the tunnel of pain, when all I can think about is how dark and stupid the tunnel itself really is? What about those times that I can't even see glimmers of light at the end.. it's the stinkin' longest tunnel on the planet, and I'm losing hope... OR what's worse? When you're in the tunnel, as you near the end, you see the light ahead, but still curse the suffering... replacing hope for self absorption?

I'm not in a particularly dark tunnel these days. In fact, I'm actually quite happy, but I know myself, and I know that in difficult times, I'm more likely to hide under my covers rather than pursue joy. As I'm getting used to this whole go to work everyday, and sit at a desk, staring at the computer until your eyes bugout lifestyle, I'm realizing if I'm just going through the motions in the everyday, and not pursuing joy in the good times, how will I ever pursue it when things are really hard?

Everyday I want to grow in sanctification... I want to be more like Christ. More joy in my life is what I need, not for my sake, but for His glory.