Notice that second on the list is JOY. The prominence that JOY has in Scripture ought to remind us to make joy it more more prevalent in our lives than it is. For instance, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) tells us to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I love how my brother Mark describes joy: “Joy is the flag that flies above the castle of the heart, announcing that the King is in residence.”
Joy and Happiness are not the same thing.
Happiness is external ~ Joy is internal
Happiness is based on chance ~ Joy is based on choice
Happiness depends on circumstance ~ Joy comes from depending on Christ!
Chuck Swindoll, in his devotional "Choosing Joy" said it best, “I have discovered that a joyful countenance has nothing to do with one's age or one's occupation (or lack of it) or one's geography or education or marital status or good looks or circumstances.
Joy is a choice! Joy is a matter of attitude that stems from one's confidence in God—that He is at work, that He is in full control, that He is in the midst of whatever has happened, is happening, and will happen. Either we fix our minds on that and determine to laugh again, or we wail and whine our way through life, complaining that we never got a fair shake. We are the ones who consciously determine which way we shall go. To paraphrase the poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox :
One ship sails east
One ship sails west
Regardless of how the winds blow.
It is the set of the sail
And not the gale
That determines the way we go.
Regardless of how severely the winds of adversity may blow, we set our sails toward joy.”
Therefore:
#1 JOY COMES FROM ACCEPTING CHRIST.
Luke 2:10-11 (NIV) “But the angel said to them [Shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 10:20 (NIV) “… rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Psalm 51:12 (NIV) “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Romans 5:1–2 (NIV) “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”
#2 JOY COMES FROM ABIDING IN CHRIST.
Romans 5:3-5 (NIV) “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
Philippians 4:12–13 (NIV) “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
John 15:9-11 (NIV) “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
#3 JOY COMES FROM ASSURANCE IN CHRIST.
1 Peter 1:8 (NIV) “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,”
Psalm 28:7 (NIV) “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.”
I remember hearing the story about a little boy who fell out of bed. His mom asked him how it happened and he said, “I guess I stayed too close to where I got in.” That’s the problem with a lot of us. We get into the family of God, but we stay too near where we got in. We don’t go any deeper. We haven’t grown to know God more personally. We haven’t learned that we really can TRUST Him. We haven’t discovered that we really CAN DEPEND on Him. You will never break one of God’s promises by leaning on it.
If you are lacking JOY—connect/reconnect with God. Get into His Word! Stand on His WORD—lose the slumped shoulders and walk tall—you are a child of the King!
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NIV) “…we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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