Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9, ESV)
We have seen it all, haven’t we? A player wins his first Major! Another player wins his first tour event. Another comes from behind and notches a “W.” Most moving of all, we watch as a seasoned veteran win again after an agonizingly long drought.
Invariably, emotions get the best of these men. In the moment, an avalanche of pent-up feelings collides with years of hopes, dreams, and expectations, and their mouths cannot keep up with what they would love to express.
Call me a wimp if you must, but when I see a tour player fall apart after achieving a lifelong dream, I enter their emotional state with them. I have some guesses about why this happens, but I will keep them to myself for now.
Granted, there are a few players who are stoic after playing their way through the gauntlet of various pressures, but overall, most of these guys drop their guard and give us a peek into their souls.
I even saw Jack shed big ole elephant tears once. Ok, that is a slight exaggeration. But I do recall on a few occasions when Jack was uncharacteristically emotional after a big win.
A recent version of this kind of joy that comes to mind is Rory’s triumph at Augusta National. Watching him make the walk from 18 green, past the CBS tower, between the rows of patrons, with a face covered in tears, sent chills down my spine.
Somewhere between that moment and the donning of the green jacket, Rory regained his composure and spoke eloquently about what “it meant to him.” But all of us know, deep down, what he really felt was “inexpressible.”
Search through the annals of history to find the greatest orators of all time—Demosthenes, Cicero, Lincoln, Churchill—ancient and modern—, and we discover that every one of them would tell us that there are times when words are entirely inadequate for the occasion.
Ask a mother, seconds after giving birth to a newborn baby, what she is thinking, and more than likely, it will be “tears of joy.” Ask a mom or dad to tell you what they are feeling right after watching their son win the Heisman Trophy, and, more than likely, it will be quivering lips.
On many occasions, all the words in the world simply cannot do the heavy lifting of capturing what we are feeling. The word “Joy” is easily spelled with three letters. Articulating joy, on the other hand, is a whole new ballgame.
When what we have been looking for all our lives has constantly eluded us, only to be finally discovered, the dam breaks and rivers of joy flood our souls. This is what Peter is describing!
When the apostle Peter writes, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible…” he is describing the unrivaled joy that occurs when a creature meets their Creator.
The mystery of emptiness, that thing we refer to as “something is missing in my life,” is finally resolved by finding our Maker. Having our hearts ravished by the Lover of our Souls is the quest we are all on, knowingly or unknowingly.
Open your heart to the one we cannot see now! Let him flood your heart with love, forgiveness, and unspeakable joy!
Prayer: Father, Son, and Spirit, open the hearts of those who are seeking but not finding to the greatest story ever told.