“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:24

You don’t know the frustrating humor of me typing that verse.  I planned to continue my weekly Advent theme journey with the topic of joy; meanwhile, I’ve been struggling to feel joy because of a barrage of hits, and writing about it would be interesting.  I pulled up an online search for “joy verses,” but before it loaded I sensed the Spirit nudging me to look at my verse-of-the-hour widget.  Lately these have been random, so the odds of it being about joy were low.

I laughed when I saw the verse above on my screen; then, I felt frustrated.

What my verse widget did not know is that I spent my drive home from school drop offs venting to God about the many hardships, and asking for many things, things I’ve been asking for over the course of weeks, months, and years.  How can the Spirit now tell me that I’m not asking?  Didn’t he hear me in the car?  I have asked and not received, and joy has felt out of reach.

I’ve been through enough with God that my conversation with Him went differently than when I was younger.  Back then, I knew what I needed and asked God to do it, and when He didn’t, I was frustrated and confused.  On this end — after many of those hardships have passed — I can recognize His different ways, His unexpected plans, and His clear faithfulness.  I understand now what I couldn’t then: that as I asked, I did receive… and couldn’t see it.

Jesus often talks about people having eyes and ears, but not seeing and hearing; I have frequently been that way… but why?  Aren’t I trying to seek Him, and don’t I long to see and hear Him?

The answer might be found in Psalm 115:

They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats. (v5-7)

This seems very reminiscent of Jesus’s description of people, but it is actually about idols: “But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.” (v4)  The Psalmist rightly named that when we create our own gods, we create something inactive and powerless; however, the ramifications go far beyond a futile deity:

Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them. (v8)

“Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them”… inactive, powerless, futile.  This is the point where we can proudly say, “I have never fashioned a god out of silver and gold,” but we would be sorely mistaken if we believe we have not fashioned or trusted idols.

Our idols are not silver and gold, but comfort, security, wealth, reputation, power, and so many other things in which we freely give our trust.  Perhaps the reason we don’t feel joy is our stance with John 16:24 is we are not asking in the name of Jesus, but [insert name of your idol.]

My requests to God in the car were largely not based on Him; though I did not mean it, my trust was in the idols of comfort, security, and opportunity.  I didn’t want to hurt or be misrepresented anymore, which is fair, but focused more on my here-and-now life than God’s Kingdom.  “If this thing happens, then things will be better, and I can feel joy.”

Fortunately, my conversation was different this time.  After I vented, I was aware that His ways and thoughts are different than mine (Isaiah 55:8) and I was able to say, “I don’t know what I’m asking you to do, because only you actually know what I need.  So I guess I’m asking that anything that is not of you would go, and any space you ask me to be, I would be equipped to stand.”  Saying this meant that the hardships could continue; it also meant that I would be with the King.

Until now, perhaps we have not really asked “in his name.”  We may ask him, and believe it’s for him, but perhaps our asking is more for ourselves.  Jesus means something more than simply adding his name to our prayers; the very request itself must be in him.’

If we’re honest, this can all feel like confusing spiritual gibberish.  If it’s true we aren’t asking correctly, then we have no clue how to ask in his name; we’re in good company:

They kept asking, “What does he mean…? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
John 16:18

The disciples that journeyed with Jesus daily for years struggled to understand how all this worked, and even when — at the end of his earthly ministry — they thought they finally got it (“Now we can see…”, v30) Jesus made it clear they still had much to discover (“Do you now believe?”, v31.)

In other words, it is okay if John 16:24 is confusing or even frustrating, because as Jesus invited his disciples to trust confusing and frustrating Truths, he invites you and me today.

As we choose to believe these truths — even before we understand them — it will change what and how we ask; and as we ask in new ways, we will find ourselves receiving what we truly need.

Then, our joy will be complete.