Already angry and rebellious, the young man became increasingly bitter as he endured the horrors of life in a concentration camp in former Yugoslavia. Yet, Miroslav Volf would later write that this angry teenager—who became Volf’s father—discovered God in that concentration camp. How? By watching a fellow prisoner respond to inhumane treatment with joy. Of that man, Volf wrote, “Raging hunger, hard labor, and thousands of daily humiliations neither extinguished the sparkle in his eyes or made his hands weary of helping others.” Volf’s father came to believe in the loving God reflected through that man’s unquenchable joy.
This joy isn’t the result of a trouble-free life, the absence of tears, or an ability to ignore the struggle and pain we encounter in this broken world. Joy is the condition of a heart indwelt and filled by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), for the Spirit can produce joy in our hearts—regardless of the circumstances we may be facing.
That’s why in the context of suffering, Peter, speaking of Jesus, could write, “Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with glorious, inexpressible joy.” (1 Peter 1:8). Knowing Christ and living in His Spirit provides a joy that can only come from Him—a joy that can carry us through life’s most challenging moments.
