Sweet note from our student friend Marissa…
Many people today are walking around without joy or with what I call roller-coaster joy. I always seem to experience this roller-coaster joy; it peaks one moment before plummeting to the newest low. Why is it that most everyone lacks a fullness of joy and how can we get it?
To find some insight into these questions, I performed a search on blb.org, searching for the words “joy” and “full” together. There were three requirements for this fullness of joy. Interestingly, all three of these criteria come from John the disciple.
Joy comes from strong unwaivering faith in God. We must firmly believe in God’s Word. Aside from trust in God’s truth as the anchor for our life, we can never have lasting joy.
I John 1: 4 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
Joy comes when we know our prayers are heard and answered. We must pray in Jesus’ name. Seven times Jesus commands his disciples to ask the Father their requests in His name. These seven verses all have the same Greek phrase for “in my name” and are found in Matthew 18:20; John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23,24,26. Right before Jesus’ crucifixion, he wanted his disciples to understand that they were no longer going to be able to talk with Him face to face. They would lose the privilege of receiving whatever they requested from Him in person. Six times in three chapters (John 14-16) Jesus reiterates that they must begin to pray “in my name”. He said “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name [because they had no need to do this- they could simply ask Jesus Himself]: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:23b-24)
Joy comes when we have a clear conscious. We must keep God’s commandments. Our joy comes when he is joyful over us. Obviously, God cannot be joyful over our sin, so He is joyful rather when we obey Him. This is a result of constantly dwelling in His presence whether it be by praying, fellowshipping, listening, studying, reading, or doing whatever task is required (by the Spirit’s strength of course). There is an old adage that states, “Praying lets us leave sinning, and sinning lets us leave praying”. I might add, “Praying lets us leave sinning, and sinning lets us leave praying and joy.”
John 15: 9-11: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
So why don’t all Christians have a constant fullness of joy? Mainly because we are constantly battling against our flesh which is naturally bitter, unhappy, and anything but joyful. But it is also because we disobey God which affects His joy in us. When God is disappointed in us, our joy should rightly be curtailed, though not abolished because there is always joy in the hope of forgiveness. It is only when we are right with God again that our joy can regain its fullness. This is because God’s joy is complete once again in us. This principle is similar to that of a parent’s experience with their child. When a child has disobeyed their parent, the parent is disappointed and his or her joy in that child is temporarily subdued. Usually a child can sense their parent’s dissatisfaction and becomes likewise discontent and unjoyful. Finally, the child’s discomfort would usually lead him or her to mend the situation so joy can be once again restored.
Note: It is possible to have partial joy. Partial joy results in dissatisfaction and is what everyone experiences. What I am outlining, however, and what the Bible demands we have, is full joy – something largely lacking among Christians and especially us teens.
To summarize:
1. Joy starts with our certainty that God’s Word is truth. (I John 1:3)
2. Joy is compounded when we pray in “Jesus name” because we will see the result of our prayer. (John 16:24)
3. Joy’s ultimate abiding comes from dwelling in God’s presence and obeying His commands. (John 15:9-11)
Call to action: If you feel a lack of joy and don’t understand why, check yourself on these questions which all result in a suppression of joy if answered wrongly. Are you truly certain of God’s Word? You know what is in the Bible and believe with conviction that it is true? Do you pray in Jesus’ name? Are you in sin and unwilling to change your ways? Are you willing to change your behavior to be filled with joy? Are you in need of simply spending time in God’s presence for rejuvenation?
