Two things that every teenager can identify with are a lack of hope and a deep sense of loneliness. Joy is the remedy, but how do you find it?

LACK OF HOPE

When classes get hard, school seems totally pointless, friends betray you, you get cut from a team or fail a quiz… all of this can make a teenager feel hopeless. Hope is when a person has reason to believe something good is going to happen to them. Teenagers, because of the roller coaster of emotions and disloyalty among peer relationships, often do not feel like anything good is going to happen to them today, or tomorrow. Because emotions are heightened in adolescence, it is not uncommon for them to either hate or love school, depending on the day or month. This is a normal pattern, but it is not a helpful one. Those of us who really love teenagers can do something to help our teenage friends experience hope even if their circumstances stink.

LONELINESS

Because everyone wants to feel included, teenagers tend to run in small packs. Unfortunately to preserve their sense of belonging they often cut down or make fun of other kids who are not in their group. The devastation of this pattern is insecurity for just about everyone. When a kid cuts someone down or does not show mercy toward someone who messed up, the result is deeper loneliness because everyone intrinsically knows that they are no better than anyone else. Eventually this “pack mentality” catches up with everyone. Each of us will mess up and get made fun of or ridiculed, its just a matter of time.

So how do you break out of this vicious cycle, and maybe help another teenager get free from this joyless trap of loneliness and fleeting hope?

JESUS’ REMEDY IS JOY

If all a person has is a human-centered worldview, then by all means, they have reason to be hopeless. Human nature is the same as it was in the Garden of Eden, and human nature  will not change because of sin. That sounds bleak, but if you don’t face up to this fact, then hope will remain as allusive as Bigfoot. On the other hand, if you put your faith in Jesus Christ and trust that the worldview in the Bible is true and offers the remedy to all human despair, then you are on the path of hope. Jesus is the remedy. He is the source of joy.

One day up on a mountain, surrounded by a crowd of people who were hungry for hope, Jesus gave a sermon that is now probably one of the most quoted bodies of teaching in all of the world’s published writings. It is called the “Sermon on the Mount”, and within these words you will find the secret to experiencing joy even when your circumstances stink.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (for teenagers)

Teenagers really need to hear and understand the secret to deep joy that Jesus revealed in these words:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,  and he began to teach them.

He said:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

^‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12)

Have you ever noticed that in all of God’s creation, most living creatures, and all higher order animals and humans have two eyes. Try this experiment: Close one of your eyes, look around, walk around, try to some routine task, and tell me if you notice a slight disadvantage. Now try again with both eyes open. Somehow in God’s design when we use both of our eyes we have balance and perspective. Our work becomes more efficient.

In the Sermon on the Mount, I see “two eyes” that Jesus has given us to see, understand, and experience true joy the way God intended us to experience it. And you will see that embracing both of these deep truths will lead you into a full experience of joy, whereas if we just lean on one of them, we may miss out on all that God wants us to experience in his joy. The two eyes of joy in the Sermon on the Mount are: Inheritance, and Comfort.

INHERITANCE – WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO HOPE

The first “eye” Jesus reveals to help us experience the reality of joy is our inheritance in him. We can experience deep joy, especially in the midst of hard circumstances, because we belong to God as sons and daughters. You have been given every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), so as a result you may not feel or experience that full reality in our life on earth, but the truth is that we have an inheritance that can never spoil or fade:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you… (1 Peter 1:3-4)

In the Sermon on the Mount, look at all of the ways Jesus reminds his followers of the blessings and joy of our inheritance, especially in the midst of turmoil and hardship:

COMFORT – WE ARE NOT ALONE

Now look through the second “eye” of perspective in the Sermon on the Mount that shows us how to experience joy when circumstances stink. Jesus reminds his followers of the blessings and joy of your comfort, especially in the midst of turmoil and hardship:

• Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.

• Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.

Here is the way I’d paraphrase the verses above in my own words:

• Comfort: You will actually experience joy when you are sad or broken because it is in those moments that you desperately need God and when he sees us in genuine need, he swoops down and comforts us. The Apostle Peter explains how this happens to those who love and follow Jesus, even when we are off-the-charts anxious or fearful:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

• Filled: When you are most hungry for God because your circumstances stink, this is when you will get filled up with Joy. So don’t be discouraged or despair when things are hard… it is actually in trials that you will experience being filled up with God’s presence…

• Merciful: If you show mercy towards people, especially those who don’t really deserve it, then you will actually experience more mercy in your own life, which unlocks immeasurable joy that you may be lacking if you are not very merciful.

TAKE A STEP

• On a scale from 1-4 how would you rate your joy right now?

• What do you think it would take to increase your joy?

• From the study above, identify 2-3 specific beatitudes that Jesus taught that you can exercise faith and belief this week in His words, and watch how he brings deeper joy to you.

• Be different. Try choosing joy in a trial this week by believing in your inheritance in Christ and crying out for his comfort. Let me know what happens in your heart and in your relationships as a result.