Listening for the Bassoon

Our hearts may ache, but we always have joy.

2 Corinthians 6:10 (NLT)

It’s been a while since I last posted a blog, but after a Sunday spent talking about joy, it seemed a shame not to share some of it here. I led the morning meeting at my church and later took part in a Heart of Worship event, both exploring the theme of joy.

This clip from Bill Bailey was the starting point. Take a moment to watch it and see if you can spot what the cheeky bassoons are getting up to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1p5zOM96f0

Hidden within the depths of the orchestra, the bassoons were quietly sneaking in a rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees. It wasn’t obvious at first. The melody was there the whole time, but most of us didn’t notice it because the other instruments were louder. I’ve heard that clip a few times now, and my mind goes straight to the hidden tune almost immediately, simply because I know it’s there. Once you know what you’re listening for, you hear it differently.

In the clip, the music surrounding the hidden melody is beautiful, but life doesn’t always sound like that. When everything feels slightly out of tune and the noise becomes overwhelming, the melody of joy can be difficult to hear. When we read verses like “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10), yet find both joy and strength hard to access, it can be challenging. It can even make us question whether the melody of God’s joy is playing at all in our lives.

Full confession.

Experiencing God’s joy is something I find really difficult, especially when life is hard.

I can often hear the underlying melody of resilience or steadfastness in my life.

I may even hear the melody of resignation, but joy can be much harder to pick out.

When joy is a gift promised by God, why can it sometimes feel so difficult to hear its melody in our lives?

This isn’t about unearthing all the hard things we’re facing and tying them up in a neat “joy” bow. It’s simply about beginning to explore how sorrow and joy can exist alongside each other, and how both can be present even when life is hard.

The apostle Paul writes honestly about this tension. In one of his letters, Paul describes what following Jesus was really like for him and the early church, and it isn’t easy reading.

He talks about trouble, hardship, sleepless nights, hunger and opposition.

He writes about being beaten, imprisoned and misunderstood.

These were people living through incredibly difficult circumstances.

Right in the middle of all that, he writes these words:

“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.”

(2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT)

If we read that quickly, it can almost make us feel worse. If Paul and the early Christians could experience joy in the middle of such suffering, why is it often such a struggle for us?

What’s interesting is that Paul doesn’t try to resolve that tension. He doesn’t say the aching disappears or that everything suddenly becomes joyful. He simply holds both realities together.

Our hearts ache, and yet there is still joy.

That’s not an easy thing to get our heads around, because we tend to feel like one should cancel out the other.

Paul doesn’t see it that way.

It’s not that different from what we saw in the clip earlier. Sometimes the music of our lives sounds amazing, but at other times one part grates as it sits slightly out of tune with everything around it. There are also moments when life feels like a loud, stressful racket that overwhelms everything else.

In those moments, it can feel as though the melody of joy has disappeared...

as though it isn’t there anymore...

as though the bassoon players have left the building.

What Paul seems to be saying is that it hasn’t gone. It’s simply not the thing we can hear most clearly. Other things are louder and more obvious, demanding our attention. Underneath all the noise, the deeper melody of God’s joy is still there, not because everything is okay, but because God is still present in the middle of it.

This definition of joy may be familiar to you. It’s one I find myself returning to, especially when I start to confuse happiness with the deeper, steadier joy that comes from trusting God.

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control, the quiet confidence that everything will ultimately be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

Kay Warren

That kind of joy isn’t about pretending the music of life sounds beautiful. It’s about learning to recognise that the melody of joy is still there, even when it’s hard to hear.

Our hearts may ache... but we always have joy.

Kay Moorby