Joy. You can’t buy it at the store, it doesn’t come in cans, boxes, easy applicators, bags, or sacks. It isn’t gotten with some easy 1-2-3, step-by-step method. Joy – so where does real joy come from?
Heaven is in no short supply of joy, it’s an abundant commodity available to anyone willing to believe on the name of Jesus. Sounds simple, and, well, actually … it is, we simply have to be willing to put our shoulder into faith in God. Sometimes easier said than done, but for millions, God has made a way to do just that. Let me add though, i’m almost always suspicious anytime someone uses the words, “If you’ll just…”, or “You simply have to….”, or “If we would only…” minimizing the thing to be done, making it seem easier to accomplish than it really is. One of the by-products of that faith-effort is joy, the joy of the Lord Himself. How do we get it? i’ll add that the luminary of my spirit, soul, and eyes gives the light of joy to my heart.
In Psalm 43:4 the psalmist is so overwhelmed at the goodness of God he’s willing to pickup an instrument and sing songs of praise and worship.
“Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” The Lord Himself is our joy. He is life changing, over the top, beyond all hopes and dreams, and past all expectations. That all sounds amazingly wonderful, but i suppose we’ve got to ask a question of ourselves: do we have it? What is joy to you? i took a moment to look up “joy” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary which said, “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires”. Honestly, that seemed kind of narrow to me. Does being a success at something give you joy? Of course, but what if God means for the idea of “joy” to be a part of us all the time and every day, even when things aren’t well with us and it isn’t dependent on the work of our hands? i believe His intent is that we would still have “joy” even in challenging circumstances. i do “enjoy” the work of my hands, but is there something more to joy that is deeper, longer lasting, and more a part of our foundation than just the joy of having what we want, or things merely going well for us.
! IF ! in the foundations of our heart “joy” is something which comes and goes, on again/off again as we succeed and fail, it would seem to not really hold to the idea of “joy” as God intended it, but more as men would describe “fun”. Do we, as adults, “enjoy” life because we have “joy”, or do we have “fun”? It may seem a subtle difference here, but 1000 yards away it’s a wide variance. It would seem “joy” is the mature version of what would otherwise by the juvenile “fun”. Don’t get me wrong here, i like having fun like the next person. i mean, i love a good rollercoaster! It’s fun, that is … as long as the ride lasts, and then it isn’t fun. But when i enjoy myself, it is joy which lasts and lasts. “Fun” rises and falls, it’s erratic, but “joy” is a constant. i wonder … is joy a vacuum in our hearts, but we’re so busy having “fun” we don’t realize that there is a hollow spot where joy should be? And everyday we look for better “fun” than yesterday, for if today’s “fun” doesn’t eclipse yesterdays fun, then many consider life dull and unhappy. Let’s think about that! If that is how we think of joy, then i believe we’ve completely misunderstood God and need to realize “joy” is not about “fun”.
Quite some time ago, my son came to me when i got home from work and asked, “Dad, did you have fun today?” It was a simple question from a young man wanting to engage his father in some conversation, but in the moment, something clicked in my head and i realized, i don’t have fun, but i enjoy and find joy in everything i do. i wondered when did i start enjoying all of my life, and when was the last time i had “fun”? i enjoy mowing the lawn and i have a rising joy when i sit on the porch in the evening watching the sun go down, smelling the fresh mowed lawn. Sitting on the porch, smelling the fresh cut grass and watching the sun go down isn’t fun, but it is certainly an enjoyable thing. And the memory of those times is joy all over again. It appears to me “fun” is in the moment, it is here and gone again, and today’s measure of fun is based on our evaluation of yesterdays fun. If we had more fun yesterday than today, many people don’t consider themselves to have had fun today. Do you understand what i’m saying? God has done something in our hearts concerning “joy” that is so invasive to all our being, that “joy” enters in to all our affairs, and His joy just stays, and stays, and stays and it’s always on a steady rising incline, unlike fun which oscillates from moment to moment. For me, yesterday’s joy didn’t fade by the time today got here, it’s still here, and getting better all the time, always on the increase. My joy isn’t dependent on a thing or another human being, my joy is completely tied to Jesus, and because He is consistent and always increasing in glory, my joy is consistent and always increasing also. Real Joy comes from God alone. It is a result of the Holy Spirit being in us as seen in the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23
In Psalm 5:11 “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.” In Psalm 16:11 it says in God’s presence there is joy for ever and ever. What if i read that inserting “fun” in place of “joy”? It would read, In God’s presence there is fun for ever and ever. That totally doesn’t work, it sounds too much like a carnival or circus act. Psalm 48:2 says the city of God, the city of His presence is the joy of the whole earth. Wow! What a place. Joy is definitely something i want, don’t you? i mean, why would anyone not want the joy God offers all who will simply respond to His invitation to believe in Him, turn from their own self-centered agenda, and eat at His table? i don’t know about you but i’m not really interested in something i have to keep reinventing every day like fun, i’d like something more permanent and consistent like joy. And you know what, God has lots, and lots of it, and absolutely loves to give joy to those who want it! When God looks at us and says we are His children, the joy of His heart, He said we are the “joy” of His heart, not the “fun” of His heart.
Psalm 33:18-22 from the Message Bible, “Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We’re depending on GOD; he’s everything we need. What’s more, our hearts brim with joy since we’ve taken for our own his holy name. Love us, GOD, with all you’ve got— we are depending on you with all our heart.
Think about it.