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.)
Last week, we found two reasons why we should rejoice that Jesus left us: heaven is His proper place, and He fulfilled His very specific promise (John 14:28-29). Another reason is found in John 13-17: we should rejoice that Jesus has sent us the Comforter, as He promised (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15). This Comforter is God the Holy Spirit. Yes, God the Son leaves His disciples after He completes His earthly ministry, but He does not leave us alone and joyless. The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to indwell each believer (I Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9) testifies to the blessed thoroughness of our Triune God, for without God we cannot have His joy. Romans 14:17 says, “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” I have stressed the fact in past studies that the perfections of God cannot be separated; they work together such that when we are speaking of joy we are also speaking of righteousness and peace (and comfort and a host of other attributes). The particular indwelling role of God the Holy Spirit ensures us the companionship and spiritual strength that we need not only to survive but also to flourish. Jesus returned to heaven, but He knows how crucial joy is. Thus, we are given the Holy Spirit; only with God within us can His joy be fulfilled (John 15:11, 17:13). May we marvel at this remarkable work of God in our lives.