necessary

After years of investing in the development of a morning routine, you might mistake me for a “morning person”. But buried beneath all the work-outs, devotionals, and oversized cups of coffee, is a guy who’d much rather sleep in until noon every day.

Getting up early may never be something that comes naturally, but at least for me, it’s a necessity. And in many respects, the same can be said as it relates to our sense of joy in life. Though joy is something you’d expect to come naturally, you often find the opposite to be true.

Ask people how they’re doing on a given day, and you’ll hear a lot of common responses. “Tired”. “Busy.” “Stressed.” But joyful? Not hardly. One of the last things you’ll find is a person going on & on about how “joyful” they are. And yet in spite of its’ rarity—

Joy is a necessity.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) tell us:

“…For the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

What empowered Jesus to endure the cross? The joy set before Him. Heaven’s joy enabled Jesus to overcome hell on our behalf. For each of us, the struggle of life often presents itself as a great test of endurance. And without joy, we’re sure to lose our way.

Taken seriously enough, you’ll find joy. Taken for granted, you’ll lose it. Living as a person of joy is a vital part of our journey with Jesus. It’s our eternal sense of joy that makes it possible to do as Jesus said, to“take up our cross each day”.

Joy shines an inextinguishable light within us. And in turn, it’s the light we shine amongst the brokenness we come across each day. Living with joy isn’t just a better way to live—

it’s the only way.

looking for joy

More than a feeling. When you look at the teachings of Jesus & His earliest disciples, that’s the truth you find regarding joy. You find that it’s a deep gladness that you should literally be “filled” with. It should be in your possession. Which means, joy is something to be carefully looked after.

Although much can be said about the subject, there’s two fundamental areas that stand out. There’s the area of vulnerability, where joy is lost. And the area of opportunity, where joy is found.

There’s an old country song that’s all about “looking for love in all the wrong places”. Likewise, you don’t want to be looking for joy in all the wrong places. This is an opportunity to put your joy back in God’s hands. This is about allowing God to guide you along the path of becoming a person of joy.

WHERE JOY IS LOST

These moments are rare, but I was having one of those “on top of the world” moments the other day. One of those moments where, you don’t necessarily have a reason for it, but you can’t help but feel good about life. Your awareness level of everything that’s good is really high, and the rest of it just doesn’t seem to register.

Anyway, I had just gotten home after running an errand before everybody woke up for the morning. And as I walked into the house, I was surprised by a kind of a picturesque moment. My 6 and 3-year-old girls were hanging out together on the couch, watching some t.v.

Given the sweet moment & the way I was already feeling, I couldn’t help but share my thoughts. I said, “I’m glad God’s given me such beautiful, loving girls.” And my oldest daughter, with her eyes still zoned-in on the t.v., replied with a careless, “I bet”. Which admittedly, wasn’t the loving reply I was expecting.

that’s life for you.

Most of the time, it doesn’t match our expectations. Most everything falls outside our small radius of control. We can’t control what people say or how they feel. We can’t always control our circumstances, nor can we decide every outcome in life. With good reason, we’re told to:

“Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

When we magnify control, we minimize our joy. God didn’t design us to bear burdens, He designed us to bear fruit. When we fail to give to God what is God’s (control), we starve our Spirit of the joy in trusting Him.

In light of His inevitable crucifixion, Jesus forewarned His disciples that they would experience intense grief. But He also told them that their grief would “suddenly turn to wonderful joy” due to His resurrection.

God specializes in converting grief into joy.

He wants you to give Him every shred of grief you endure. Every uncontrollable area in life that chips away at you. Instead of giving you control, He wants to give you something so much better. Joy. The joy of knowing that, even though we may not always have control—

we always have christ.

WHERE JOY IS FOUND

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!.” John 15:11 (NLT)

When you look at the context of this verse, you find Jesus painting a vivid picture of our God-given identity. In detail, Jesus describes Himself as The Vine, while we are identified as the branches that are connected to Him. The branches that The Gardener (God) prunes & enables to bear more & more fruit.

Jesus explains that those who remain in His love will keep His commands. And that Jesus Himself will remain in them, and they will experience His complete joy. What is Jesus telling us? That apart from Him, genuine joy ceases to exist. But in Him, unceasing joy is found.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus reiterates this truth again. We’re told that His disciples return with joy to report to Jesus about their experience of driving demons out of people. To which Jesus replies, “…do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20, NIV)

Jesus makes it clear, we should rejoice & be glad in the knowledge of our eternal salvation. To know with confidence that, no matter what may happen in life, we are His children. We are forever ingrained into the Family of God. We don’t just look for joy around us, we find His Joy within us. Because your name is written in heaven—

joy is forever yours.

the overflow

There’s a famous story shared in which Jesus meets a woman at a well. In this account, Jesus is thirsty from traveling & so He asks this woman to draw Him a bucket of water. Because Jesus is a Jew & she’s a Samaritan woman (two groups of people who historically hated each other), she’s caught off guard by His request. She questions why Jesus is asking her for a drink, to which Jesus counters with:

“…If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

Jesus continues:

“…Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4 (NLT)

The world tells us to “find our joy”, whereas Jesus offers us His very own. He doesn’t want you to simply look for joy, He desires for you to become a source of joy. For His life & His joy to overflow from within.

Where you look for joy matters. To whom you look to, matters even more. Joy is a deep well to draw from, a bubbling spring within. When you find it, you don’t ever have to thirst again. Joy overflows—

When joy is found in Jesus.

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today’s Takeaways

• Joy is a necessity.

• For The joy before him, Christ endured.

• joy is found in Jesus.

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