I wonder what makes you personally have joy? Is it eating your favorite food or going to some special place on this amazing planet? Maybe it’s seeing your favorite friends at the end of a busy week or, even better, seeing a friend you haven’t seen in years. Joy in the human experience is a unique experience that does more than make you laugh or sing, it energizes us.
There is a difference between happiness and joy that many of us may not realize. Joy is that unique emotion that we as human beings need in our lives to propel us to do extraordinary things and hopefully enjoy the journey of life. Happiness, on the other hand, is meant to be an emotion that acts like a “Safety Valve” in our emotional make up. Without it, we become grumpy, angry, bitter and destructive rather than productive as God intended. The trick is how to acquire joy and happiness without compromising on who we are meant to be.
I think we all love being happy because it feels so good yet our soul needs “JOY” far more because it revives us from all the pressure in life that often keeps us weighted down. The joy that God wants us to experience will “FUEL” our souls to not only do great things but we will also enjoy the journey to get to those accomplishments. Joy fills us with energy and power to overcome extraordinary obstacles, like sadness and regret. Joy is that substance that energizes us like few other things in life can. The sad thing is that we have been deceived into thinking that acquiring “THINGS” will make us happy and joyful and thus we spend our whole lives working to get those things only to find out at the end of life that all of those things don’t satisfy.
God’s joy fueled Jesus to handle the hate, pain and torment others would throw his way and it can help us overcome as well. Paul the apostle wrote about what Jesus said and wrote about joy in the book of Hebrews. For Jesus, it was the prospect of what he would accomplish that gave him great joy and the ability to face and endure the cross.
Hebrews 12:2
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
I don’t think I experience enough joy in my life. In fact, I know I don’t. I think I am too fixated on the tasks at hand and overcoming the lies of Satan in my life and the lives of those around me. If what I said previously is true, about my need of God’s joy to overcome anything, then it should help me battle what hinders me. It’s strange that the very thing I know we need and want often becomes like a mist or smoke which passes through our fingers rather than something we should be able to grasp.
The leader / prophet Nehemiah wrote long ago a powerful one liner when he said, “The Joy Of The Lord” is our strength. What if we are trying to live the Christian life the wrong way? Maybe more of us than we care to admit are running on an empty tank of joy rather than being filled like Jesus was? What if we are attempting to be strong in God by our own human strength rather than God’s? I will confess that I often fit into the latter category and live too much from a human power instead of from God’s power.
Nehemiah 8:10
“The joy of the Lord is your strength“
When Nehemiah said the Joy of the Lord is our strength he was trying to help the Jewish people see what had happened in their lives and why. They had been with shame and dishonor and scattered as a people and now they had been reunited with each other and their future had promise. With the walls of Jerusalem having been completed, you would have thought they understood how and why they were making headway in life, yet when the law of God was read they realized how far from God’s best they had drifted. Nehemiah was helping them to see that the joy of rebuilding both their city and their lives needs to be fueled with the prospect of gaining ground though God’s help. The joy of the Lord is the joy that comes from trusting and being excited with the future that is in God’s hands, not ours alone.
The apostle Paul wanted and needed this same joy for you and me. However, this joy comes with a cost. It comes from “TRUST”, not comfort. Maybe we are looking for happiness to fuel our soul when it’s joy that will do the trick. Not just any kind of joy but God’s joy. Paul knew that other believers could fill his “JOY TANK” to the top of his soul “IF” they followed his advice. He knew if people lived for Jesus fully then his joy would flood his soul and theirs as well.
Philippians 2:1-2
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
At my age you would think I would have arrived at the basics in God’s Word yet I find the need to return to the basics to regain the perspective I need to finish my race. I am saddened that so many believers are abandoning the basics, like needing the joy of the Lord to gain the strength for our journey. Too many believers are living humanistic lives and still calling it Christianity without the power of God fueling them.
Dear friend, Don’t let the enemy of your soul keep you from the joy of the Lord. You life is meant to make a difference in this dark world and only through the power of God will you accomplish it.
Questions:
1) When was the last time you were filled with “Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory? ( 1 Peter 1:8) Only with the eyes of faith will you be filled.
2) Have you let the darkness of the world poison your soul so that you live in worry and fear rather than experiencing God’s light in this present darkness? ( Heb 12:2 ) Remember to “FIX” your eyes on Jesus and he will see you through.
May God’s joy cover us like the morning dew!
Pastor Dale
“It’s strange that the very thing I know we need and want often becomes like a mist or smoke which passes through our fingers rather than something we should be able to grasp”
Pastor Dale, I my opinion, this is one of the strongest, most penetrating articles you have written. I particularly like the quoted above, and completely understand why you make this statement.
As I have such a special relationship with you as my mentor, I couldn’t help but comment. You have preserved joy in my life by helping me to better understand the very situations that attempt to steal it from my grasp. You as my mentor have changed this outcome for me. I pray that the positive impact you have on so many of us is joy that you can grasp with a firm grip.
Amen and Amen….love you Pastor.
Hi Jason
Thanks for your feed back and the compliment.
I will have to reread the article myself again because of what you said.
I endeavor to fuel other like yourself to be the kind of people God delights in using to change the world.