Subject: A study on Joy that seeks to answer the “problem of joy.”





Initially, I presumed a study of joy would be one of the easier studies I would conduct. Boy was I wrong! I have found a Biblical understanding of joy is much more difficult than expected, but I have also confirmed that joy is a rich concept. While joy is deep, lavish, and replete in Scripture, it is also a bit problematic. It has severely challenged the way I used to understand it. If I had to guess, this study will likely challenge the way you understand joy as well. My goal is to help shift your thinking by discussing several difficult Biblical lessons on joy, which will help you experience more of it and enhance your relationship with God.

To open the Bible and gaze upon joy is to lift the lid of a long-lost treasure chest and behold a great wealth!

Let’s talk about Joy. Joy can be defined a number of different ways. The definition I prefer is “satisfaction and fulfillment that can be found ONLY in God.” Naturally, as a disciple of Christ, our lives have truly been baptized in the streams of satisfaction and fulfillment. As Jesus declared, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11), and again He stated, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and NO ONE will take your joy from you” (John 16:22). Here, Jesus is referencing the satisfaction and fulfillment of being placed, by faith, securely in covenant with God. Joy is seen as the “natural byproduct” of life with Christ:

· We have the satisfaction of knowing that we are saved.

· We have the fulfillment of a life that has meaning and purpose.

· We have been redeemed.

· We have been commissioned to glorify God on earth.

· We have a personal relationship with Yahweh.

· We have peace with God.

· We have been forgiven.

· We have been made new.

· We have been grafted into the Vine.

· We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit…

We have joy because of the work of Christ. God satisfies our emptiness and fulfills our desire for meaning and purpose. The Christian life is so thoroughly marked by joy, the Kingdom of God is seen as being characterized by it. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Satisfaction and fulfillment in the Holy Spirit! Joy!

Right now, you are likely thinking, “Dusty, none of this sounds like a problem. I see no real difficulty with any part of what you are saying.” Well… let me offer the first problem we face with this study on joy.

Problem – If it is a natural byproduct of the Christian life, why don’t I feel any joy?

If joy is a natural byproduct of the redeemed life, why are their times I don’t feel it? Why don’t I always feel satisfied and fulfilled? Why do I feel discouraged and defeated sometimes? If being in the Vine – Christ who is the Source of all joy – means that I have access to the promise of unending joy, why does it NOT seem to come easily and naturally?!

How can this be? If those Passages we discussed earlier promise that “no one will take your joy from you,” how can it be that other Passages instruct (and even command) us to practice Joy? Doesn’t a command or an instruction for a believer to practice joy imply that we won’t always feel it? Doesn’t a command to practice joy contradict Jesus’ promise about it always being there? How, then, are we to understand instructions like 1 Thess. 5:16-18 and Gal. 5:22. One instructs, “Rejoice always… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” and the other commands us to actively produce the fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”

These Passages inform us of how God’s will (His desire) is for us to rejoice always. To practice joy. To practice joy always and in all situations. They command us to bear the fruit of joy with the help of the Holy Spirit. Both of these Passages show us that believers play a role in how joy and Christian life converge. We are (it would seem) responsible for producing, walking in, and experiencing joy!

To further demonstrate this, we can look at John 15:11. Jesus declares this, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” At first glance, It would appear to be a promise of joy to the believer. It appears to be an unconditional promise. Jesus spoke to give us His joy. And we receive His joy to full measure. In the Greek, however, the giving of Jesus’ joy AND the receiving of Christ’s joy to the fullest extent is in the “subjunctive” mood. In short, this is the mood of possibility or potentiality. It emphasizes a contingency, or condition, to the giving and receiving of joy. One Greek scholar says this, “It suggests that the action is dependent upon some condition being met” (Austin). As we will discover a little later, the condition is our action and responsibility.

So which is it?! Is it that we have been promised to experience undying joy in the Christian life, or is it that we are instructed to play a role in the production, practice, and experiences of joy?

Solution - It is both!

The answer is both.

Firstly, we have been grafted into Christ who is the source of all joy. We have access to God who provides the joy for which the soul is desperate. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and we can enjoy the presence of God where ever we find ourselves.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence” (Psalm 21:6).

And again,

“Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God” (Psalm 43:4).

For the Believer, it is true that God is the source and provider of head-lifting joy. Apart from the Lord, NO lasting joy can be found. Joy is even described as a characteristic of the Christian-life because of all that Messiah has done, is doing, and will do (Rom. 14:17).

Truly, satisfaction and fulfillment can ONLY be found in Jesus Christ because only He can provide the meaning and purpose that human existence desires. Joy can be seen as a promise for the believer, because we have the satisfaction of a deep relationship with the Almighty and the fulfillment of partnering, and participating, with God in glorifying Him on earth.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10).

Happiness is fleeting, but joy is eternal. Lasting satisfaction and fulfillment can be found in God alone. As freely as we have access to God, we have access to joy (Eph. 2:18).

Secondly, God’s word, also, reveals the instruction for the believer to practice joy! These commands are God’s instruction to His people to access the joy He has made available to us. The answer is both; God has promised that no one will ever take away our joy from us - God, and the many rich blessings that can be found in His presence, are freely accessible to His people. At the same time, God instructs his people to practice joy - His desire for his people is to partake of, and participate in, the joy of God’s presence. This is what we are commanded to practice.

“Rejoice always… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:16-19).

“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Col. 1:10-11).

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12).

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:11-12).

And don’t forget Gal. 5:22-25

1 Thess. 5:16-19 instructs us of God’s will. He tells us to practice joy - always! This reveals the heavenly reality that we can learn to practice joy in all circumstances. Always is always. While we may not always “feel” joyful, we can learn to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” by reminding the heart of the goodness and love of God with regular expressions of joy. On a very practical level, God has called us to rehearse and express the satisfaction and fulfillment that can only be found in Him.

In one sense, the directive to practice joy in all circumstances is the instruction to access God and the blessings that are found in His presence.

In another sense, the practice of joy is the expression of a grateful heart to believe, cherish, and serve God.

Answering the “How?”

Lastly, we need to discuss “how” the believer can practice joy.





According to the context of our John 15:11 Passage, there are two ways we can begin practicing joy. (Also, it should be briefly noted that practicing joy is also the means by which we position ourselves to experience more joy).

Consulting the context reveals two practical ways we can begin to practice joy and position ourselves for more experiences in the presence of God. It says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11).





According this passage, the two conditions to walking in joy and receiving joy is abiding and obeying.

The two ways listed in John 15 are “Abide” and “Obey.”

Abide:

Abiding in the love and presence of God. This can be most simply and clearly communicated as engaging in joys of a relationship with God! Practicing joy by abiding in Christ can take many forms. However, the most significant forms of “abiding” are the spiritual disciplines. The spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, reading the bible, and worship are some of the ways you can actively abide in Jesus Christ and practice joy!

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).

In this one little Passage, we see how the command to practice joy is accomplished through the spiritual disciplines. Look a little closer:

A. Meditation - meditating and reflecting upon the glorious return of the Lord (“the Lord is at hand”)…

B. Service - Worshiping God by servicing other; letting our gentle service (“reasonableness”) be known to everyone…

C. Prayer - “prayer and supplication” practices joy by abiding in, and accessing, God…

D. Thanksgiving - Practicing joy is accomplished by being militant to express our thankfulness to the Lord…

The practice of joy begins with creating time for the spiritual disciplines. Abiding in Christ is the practice of accessing the presence of God and His many blessings - including joy!





2. Obey:





Secondly, we can practice joy through obedience to Christ. Our obedience to Christ’s commands to love and serve Him - to bear fruit for His Name - is another practical means by which our John 15 passage instructs us to walk in joy. We can practice joy by training our hearts and actions to bear the fruit that glorifies God.

“walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Col. 1:10-11).

And again, with the help of the Holy Spirit to combat the inherent torments of the flesh, we are to produce good fruit in accordance with who we are in Christ.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:22-25).

Seeking opportunity to love as Christ loved, to serve as Christ served, to give as Christ gave, to administer grace and mercy as God has; this is the practice of joy. This is what positions the believer to better receive and experience the joys of a deep relationship with God.

We can practice joy by actively abiding in relationship and seeking opportunity to obey, serve, and glorify God in each and every moment.





Additional Resources:

Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life

Reaching for the Invisible God

Prayer: Does it Make any Difference?

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

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