Joy is a word that I have passed over many times as I have seen, heard, and even said it. This is kind of odd, seeing how joy is mentioned over 150 times in Scripture, depending on which translation you read. This morning, the word jumped out at me as I was reading the book “Lay it Down” by Bill Tell. It seemed the Holy Spirit was nudging me to take a closer look.
I remember, as a child, frequently being told to smile. I wasn’t necessarily sad, I just did not automatically have one on my face without thinking to put it there. I definitely realize a tendency to be serious much of the time, which produces a somewhat stoic look to my facial expression. Often I have heard that I look downright angry when I am actually just thinking seriously about something!
What are the signs of a lack of joy?
The lack of a smile and the propensity to take things very seriously are not 100% indications of a lack of joy. However, they could indicate it when coupled with other signs such as a sense of hopelessness, overall dissatisfaction and pessimism, or persistent anger or frustration with life in general. I have experienced periods in my life like that. During those times, I was missing the joy that is mentioned so much in reference to those of us who follow Christ.
What is Joy?
A quick google search of the definition of joy brings up “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” John Piper defines it as “…a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”
We often look for joy in the wrong places.
So, how can we get this joy? First, it might be good to identify a couple of ways we CANNOT experience true joy. It is not experienced by working hard to find, earn, or deserve it. God is pleased when we trust Him (Hebrews 11:6), not when we work really hard to impress Him. Our self-effort to please God was and is never enough (Ephesians 2:8-10). Likewise, our efforts to please others or even ourselves is never quite enough either.
Second, joy cannot be acquired by pleasures of this world. There are so many things that can make us happy in the moment. Even sin delivers on its promise to make us feel good for a while, even though that feeling doesn’t last and guilt and shame kick in later. Joy is something that is lasting, and it can be experienced even when our circumstances are not what we wanted them to be.
Joy is a gift that comes from only one source.
But, back to the initial question. How exactly can we tap into this great joy that is so frequently touted in Scripture? Joy is a gift that we must receive. I want to point to two quick verses in John 15, but I encourage you to read the whole passage.
In John 15:9, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” This love that Jesus has for us is a done thing. He HAS loved us. It is ours because He has given it to us. In fact, it now defines those of us who are God’s children. We are loved. That’s who we are! The fact that we are loved will never change, no matter what!
The second sentence in John 15:9 is crucial. We are loved, but Jesus wanted us to know we must now abide in it. Abiding in God’s love is the key to experiencing joy. According to John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” We do not lose it when we don’t abide in it, but we fail to experience it. It’s kind of like the fact that I own weightlifting equipment. It’s my property and nothing will change that. I can brag about it, share pictures of it on social media, tell people how cool it is, and feel good about owning it. However, I don’t get to experience the benefits of it unless I “abide in the weight room”.
We experience joy when we abide in His love.
John 15:10 tells us how we abide in His love and experience joy: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
This verse can trip a lot of us up because of false doctrines we may have been taught that are contrary to the Gospel. Jesus is not telling us to strive in self-effort to keep a bunch of rules. That would contradict everything else Jesus has said in John 15. Rather, He is pointing to doing that which pleases His Father and allows us to fulfill the commandments. Jesus perfectly obeyed His Father and experienced His love because He trusted Him. Now we have that perfection in us as new creations in Christ. We abide in His love when we trust Him. As a Christian, faith is all about believing what God says is true about who He is and who we are. Then we are able to experience His love in our relationship with Him and each other. Joy is found in those trusting, loving relationships and nowhere else.
-Neil
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