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.)
Have you ever asked God to give you His full joy? John 16:24 says, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” We are here instructed to pray to God the Father through God the Son, Whose righteousness is both imputed and imparted to us. We recognize, of course, that we cannot pray selfish or other sinful prayers, drag God into our darkness, and expect Him to do evil on our behalf. Remember that Jesus had just instructed the disciples in fruitful obedience that would bring them joy (John 15:11) and had directly connected prayer to this joyous obedience (John 15:7-8). It is clear that Jesus desires for us to have His joy in full. Thus, as we pray regarding other matters, it is always appropriate to pray for joy. Moreover, it is essential, for if there is not a note of joy in our communication with God, there cannot be joy elsewhere in our lives. Go ahead, and ask God for His joy. He wants us to have it, and He wants to answer our prayers.