Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
On Saturday, we found from Nehemiah 8:10 that “the joy of the Lord is your mountaintop.” Because joy is a characteristic of God, we know that it is desirable and,as a communicable attribute, available. In Psalm 16:11, David makes this very point: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Three things leap out of this verse. First, God is God of life and puts us on “the path of life,” in contrast to our natural, selfish, sinful path found in Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (For a New Testament perspective, read Matthew 7:13-14.) Second, God desires to give a “fulness of joy.” The picture is of a joy that is full to overflowing, consistent with the abundantly giving character of our God of grace. Third, this joy is not a temporary “mountaintop experience.” Rather, it is “for evermore.” All of this is found in the “presence” of God. Without faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ, we may have some happiness in life, but we cannot have settled joy. With Jesus, we have the certainty of eternity, a joy that can never be diminished. If we seek out His “presence,” this joy will become our abiding mountaintop, for that is always where God’s “path of Life” leads.