Promises - Your Joy Will Be Complete
Have you ever felt joy?
Is it the same as happiness? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines joy as, “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires or a state of happiness.” The Oxford English dictionary defines it as, “feeling of great pleasure and happiness.”
It appears that most people would interchange the words joy and happiness pretty easily.
Joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness comes and goes as often as waves hitting the shore. Happiness shows up when things are going great but rapidly leaves when things go south. It isn’t something you can cling to when you’ve lost a loved one, or facing bankruptcy.
Joy, on the other hand can stay with you for the long haul. The reason? Real joy is from God. For the believer, it is like a bottomless well of water—always an abundant supply. Even in the darkest days, when sadness, grief, and loss may threaten to overwhelm you, God’s joy is there.
This world, with its multitude of insolvable problems, is not a place of joy. We must all live in anticipation of disaster simply because we know it has happened so often to so many. Disease destroys the lives of multitudes. Potential war and violence on the streets strike fear into our hearts. Discouragement over the difficulties of making ends meet—or of even having sufficient to eat or a warm, dry place to live—precludes happiness for millions. How many vibrant lives have accidents or natural disasters cut short? Except for brief spurts, this world's current condition and history are sufficient proof that mankind does not know how to produce joy.
Joy is impossible without God
“And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit.” (I Thessalonians 1:6)
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds " James 1:2
These verses point to the same general source of their joy. Once they were called and heard the gospel, they believed and received it. Upon repentance, they were forgiven, baptized and given God's Holy Spirit, and they reacted with joy at God's revelation of His purpose and at their communion with Him in His wonderful work.
Jesus speaks to His disciples about joy coming when it is one of the darkest times, before the Passover and Jesus betrayal.
John 13 - Jesus washes the feet of His disciples and explains that He sees them as friends and not merely followers. He tells them that He will be betrayed. He commands them to love one another. He predicts Peter's denial of Him.
In John 14 - 16 Jesus tells them of all of His going away and sending the Holy Spirit who will be with them during many persecutions and afflictions. He says that this is going to be painful, but with joy.
John 17 Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them.
Joy is a calm confident state of the soul.
It is knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work within you.
How do you rejoice in the Lord if you don’t know anything about the Lord? How do you rejoice in the Lord if you are not seeing things about the Lord that cause joy to rise up in your heart?
When I see Christ in all that he is doing, and all that he is, then my heart is drawn out in joy towards him.
