“Joy is a protest.” I wrote those words on a sticky note a few weeks ago and posted it in the center of my bathroom mirror. I put it there to remind me that even when things look bleak, spiritual joy is an active, unstoppable healing power.  

Then some tragic things happened: a mass shooting in my state and more reports of inhumane deprivation in war zones. Who can be cheerful in the midst of the human suffering caused by a heinous crime and wars? I wanted to rip the note off the mirror and stuff it in the trash.

But after a while, I realized that this was the exact right time for staying the course and practicing true, holy joy­—joy derived from Soul, God.

Infinitely tender, this joy is so much more than a humanly generated state of personal cheer. Soul-joy involves the deep conviction that good is supreme and at hand. 

God-sourced joy is often accompanied by angel messages that repair broken hearts and heal minds and bodies.

This kind of God-sourced, holy conviction is rooted in the understanding that man is divinely created, entirely spiritual, innocent, unharmed, complete, and safe. From this rock-solid basis comes the joy that does not ingest a daily diet of desperation. It simply can’t consume that stuff. Soul-joy, then, is wholly able to affirm this radical spiritual fact proclaimed in the Christian Science textbook: “Evil is not supreme; good is not helpless; nor are the so-called laws of matter primary, and the law of Spirit secondary” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 207).

God-sourced joy is constant. It reflects the pure light of Truth. And it’s often accompanied by angel messages from God that soundlessly and compassionately go about repairing broken hearts and healing minds and bodies. There’s not one news report that can get under its skin, not one anxious thought, threatening storm, or terror that can shake it. That’s because Soul, God, doesn’t delve into our mortal problems and try to fix them with limited, human solutions.

Instead, Soul, being infinitely intelligent and all-knowing, lifts each call for help far above human strife into “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, New King James Version).

As a spiritual quality, joy is indispensable in protesting what Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, called “the ghastly farce of material existence” (Science and Health, p. 272) and affirming what Christ Jesus taught—the spiritual Truth that makes us free. This changes our standpoint and thus our perceptions. 

One day some years ago, I wasn’t feeling very joyful. It was a bleak winter day. Cold sunlight was making sharp shadows on the lawn. The wind was shrieking around the corners of the house. Someone dear to me was in trouble, and I couldn’t focus on anything else. Fear was like a ferocious tiger camped in my living room. Everything seemed overwhelming, sad, and desperate. 

Then I found myself starting to quietly sing. It was a soft, unbidden melody, and I didn’t recognize it at first. But a little later I remembered a verse to the hymn:

It was exactly the message I needed: holy joy.

Hymns have such power. They come up under us like a rising tide, lifting thought above fear and pain on a tender, powerful current of Truth. And these harbingers of joy often come just when we need them. 

As I prayed with that hymn, I felt the power of holy joy taking root in my heart and mind. I called it my holy joy tree. For weeks afterward, every time the fear came up, I faced it down with the power of that unshakable holy joy. Over the next few weeks, this work yielded the fruits of spiritual sense—the opposite of material belief—confidence, comfort, and light. The debilitating fear gave way to peace. As Soul-joy prevailed, the desperation dissipated. And my dear one was safe.  

Every time the fear came up, I faced it down with the power of that unshakable holy joy.

More recently, I was praying about a difficult, protracted health problem. In the middle of the night, after feeling somewhat hopeless about praying further, I finally hauled out my hymnal and started silently reading a few hymns.

But it wasn’t enough. I needed to sing them. I needed to embody the deep protest of joy. So I did. I started singing—slowly and quietly at first, then louder and louder. And pretty soon I was howling away at the midnight windows with holy joy. 

I was learning that joy is not for the faint of heart. In fact, practicing holy joy is one of the strongest things we can do. Joy is a powerful, ongoing affirmation of good that is especially needed when things get rugged. Claiming and embodying it marked a significant shift toward the physical healing I eventually experienced.  

I love thinking of joy as what it really is: our built-in resilience. Soul-joy heals our grief. It lifts desperation off our concept of ourselves and others, resists polarization, and unifies families, communities, and even nations. It banishes heaviness, obliterates depression, and melts the mist of mental fog and illness. It is an active agent in healing limited, material beliefs, including sickness, sin, and ultimately death. 

Moreover, Soul-joy is a tireless Truth-witness. It doesn’t wilt in fear because it doesn’t worship at the desperation altar. It doesn’t keep a chair for discouragement or self-pity, either.

And here’s another thing I’m learning: Joy and gratitude are best friends. I’ve seen them walking hand in hand down the street. Maybe you have, too. They walk in total safety together through dark places of fear. I’ve even heard them laughing at storms, confidently riding the fiercest winds with their other trusty companion—courage.

I think I’m going to need a lot more sticky notes.