Joy

When it comes to joy, we are all about it. And this is not problematic; God has created us to be joy seekers. The problem is when we seek joy in the wrong places. We are looking at the fruit of the Spirit—fruit that grows and flourishes not because of us or from us but because we are connected to God, the epitome of highest joy. We are like a tree planted by streams of water (Psalm 1:3), and we will yield God’s good fruit from His good Spirit as we remain planted in Him.

Let us start by describing what joy is not, according to God’s Word:

• Joy is not found in worldly pleasures (Ecclesiastes 2:10–11).
• Joy is not dependent on the absence of suffering (James 1:2).
• Joy cannot be bought by money or found in possessions (Proverbs 8:19).
• Joy does not mean always putting on a happy face (John 11:35).
• Joy is not shallow and does not shift (John 16:22).

According to our Savior, joy is found not in our circumstances but in knowing Him: “In Your presence there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). No one can take our joy from us because no one can take our Lord from us. True Christian joy, then, is satisfaction in the presence of God, who is full of endless and unconquerable gladness in Himself.

Joy is also rooted in hope. While suffering and dying—a seemingly despairing event—the Son of God hoped in God’s joyful purpose: to make known to us His glory. This was the joy set before Jesus, the joy that enabled Him to walk through opposition, betrayal, pain, and death—and into eternal life. And it is the same joy—God’s joy—that will enable us to do the same.

So, when opposition arises, when betrayal comes, when pain assaults, when testing assails, when depression descends, when death itself approaches, what will remain for us? Our deep and abiding joy in God. No one can take our joy from us because no one can take God’s Spirit from us; our joy remains because He does.

—Taken from “What Makes God Joyful? Reflections on Joy” by Kristen Wetherell, ©2024, www.crossway.org. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187.