The Joy of the Lord
These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full.
St. John 15:11
Availability of the Lord’s Joy
Is the world really seeking the Joy of the Lord or are they seeking something else and assuming it will bring them Joy? We will need to define Joy if we are to find an adequate answer to this question. The Old Testament Hebrew word meant to brighten or cheer, to be merry or gleeful. The New Testament Greek word was a state of happiness or to be well-off, or to delight. What is interesting in both uses of Joy is that it came from something God did or an act that God performed. This was not the result of something humorous. The joy, in its truest form, did not come as a result of human achievement. The Joy was directly related to an act of God or occurred when people paid attention to something that God did. It was the Lord’s Joy.
In celebration of Christmas, there will be greetings of “Merry Christmas,” which recognizes God’s Joy. The awesome Christmas carol, “Joy to the World” will be sung to commemorate the happy greetings to the shepherds when Jesus was born. We too can rejoice with that same “Joy” if we are attentive, for the promise was not limited to those who witnessed the birth of Jesus Christ. The Angelic host proclaimed that this Joy was to all the people. Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all the people. Luke 2:10. This was no ordinary cheer. This Joy even surpassed all the other outpourings of God’s Joy. It far surpassed the Joy the Israelites witnessed when Moses led them out of Egyptian bondage. This Joy was greater than the praises of David when the Lord delivered him from all his enemies. This Joy was even greater than the celebration when they built the first Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. God was ushering in Joy for all the world and it was coming directly from God. Wow, what Joy!
But, the question remains, why isn’t the world filled with this Joy? Why are people missing God’s Joy? Presbyterian minister, L.E. Schwarz provides some helpful clues as to why people may not be pursuing God’s Joy but rather, joy from the world. (from Strength for Service Devotional © 2002, Norman Nygaard, Editor) Schwarz suggests that many are pursuing the quantitative versus the qualitative life. They define joy by the abundance of things rather than by character, caring, and compassion. As the numbers of cars, homes, and investments increase, those quantitative people expect their joy levels to rise accordingly. Joy, plain and simple, does not come from the abundance of things.
Schwarz also proposes that people expect their joy to come through the influence of power. Power gives some people the illusion that they are in control and they are masters of their own destiny. They are seeking the power of an endless life and attempting to accomplish the eternal with the temporary. This too ends in failure. Joy does not come through power nor the lack thereof. There are millions of happy people who have been penniless but rich with the Joy of the Lord.
The third search for Joy, according to Schwarz, has to do with morality. Some seek Joy through worldly pleasure versus moral living. Pleasure seekers are searching for a feeling and have ignored the fact that the Lord’s Joy can only come through a trusting relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ. They have bought into the cultural lie that when it comes to Joy they can have it their way. The end result is there are millions whose lives have been ruined by their own selfish pursuit of pleasure. Singer and songwriter, B.J. Thomas summed up the pleasure seeker attitude in the song, “Hooked on a Feeling.” Pleasure seekers ignore their need for the Joy of the Lord.
There is nothing any of us can do to create God’s Joy, but there is an act we can perform to receive it. Only look to Jesus and He will give His Gift of Joy to anyone who asks. These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full. We must accept and follow the “Things Jesus has spoken.”
Abundance of the Lord’s Joy
Jesus made it so plain that those who receive the things that He has spoken will receive His Gift of Joy. The first ten verses in this Fifteenth Chapter of John talks about living or abiding in Christ. Our Lord uses the analogy of the Vine to illustrate that Holy connection with His Joy. Grapes don’t have to strain or struggle to live, they simply must stay connected to the vine. So it is with the Child of God, the only thing that we should focus on is our connection or relationship with Jesus Christ. The fruit of Joy is the evidence of that connection. That’s really all there is to it. There is something about the Joy of Jesus that is appealing and should excite us into receiving that Joy. The Joy of Jesus is Abundant Joy. It is not a Brill Cream portion that believers receive. The little dab is out of the question. These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full. The promise is fullness of Joy.
Contrast the fullness of God’s Joy with the level of misery the world wants to pour into our life. But when the believer’s life is already full, nothing else can get into the container of our spirit. Your God desires to fill your life so that the Fullness of Joy excludes anything that can fill you with grief, fear, agony, and misery. There are members of this Church that are facing tremendous battles with sickness, loss, and turmoil. Rather than giving in to the pressure, their lives are filled with the Joy of the Lord.
We should all know what its like for our life to be filled with fear. We should all know what its like for our life to be overtaken with anger. We should know what its like to lose a loved one and to be filled with the heartbreak of that loss. What Jesus is promising us is His Joy so that it will fill our lives to the point of overflowing. These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full.
This abundance of Joy has no leaks. It won’t leak out when stuff happens. The world cannot use our Joy for target practice. The Joy of the Lord is permanent. Jesus said, His Joy will remain in us. Man, that’s good news! What I love about it is the displacement Power of the Lord’s Joy. The Joy of Jesus pushes out all of the harmful things of the devil, the flesh, and the world so that there is nothing left except pure Joy. For that reason, the Apostle James tells us to consider it pure Joy, exclusively Joy, nothing but Joy, when you fall into divers temptations. James 1:2. An example would be a court testimony. The bailiff or other official will ask you, “do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – so help you God.” You simply answer, “Yes.” The judge doesn’t want to hear your opinions, ideas, and other things – He only wants to hear you tell the truth and has invoked God’s Power to help you tell the truth. Well, Joy works the same way. Do you know you have Joy, the whole Joy, and nothing but Joy because of God’s help? This does not mean that you have to come up with Joy, the Joy is already there through your connection with Jesus Christ. Just stay connected through the things He has spoken to you. These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full. Thank God for fullness of Joy!
Application of the Lord’s Joy
These things I have spoken to you that My Joy would remain in you and that your Joy might be full. Some may say that all sounds good, but does it really work when facing a major crisis? The answer is “Yes” because it is the Lord’s Joy. Jesus, Himself applied the Joy as He faced the Challenge of the Cross.
The Scriptures describe that time as so intense that our Lord was sweating great drops of blood. What could cause such intense pressure? Jesus was dying for the sins of mankind for all time and this meant separation from His Father as he took on the punishment for humanity. Here is what the Bible says. An Angel of God was sent to strengthen Him; not to take Jesus out of the problem. (Luke 22:43) What did the Angel do? The answer is found in the General Epistle of Hebrews 12:2, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, who for the Joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. The Angel set Joy before Jesus. That same Joy strengthened Him. This is the same Joy that Jesus provides for us in our crisis. It is the Joy He used and it is the Joy we need.
Each day we will face challenges, trials, and pressures from life. Granted, some days are better than others. But through all of those days, we need God’s Joy and thankfully we will always be able to find that Joy through God’s Word. Jesus has spoken the Joy into our hearts through His Word. We simply need to live it out.
Joy to the World, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room – Let Heaven and nature sing.