God’s Will For My Life: Joy
I was talking recently with a brother from EBC, and he made a remark that has stuck in my mind. He noted that he is becoming convinced that it is God’s will for him to experience a lot more joy than he currently experiences. As soon as he said it, I thought “That’s true!” It is God’s will for me to experience joy. If you are in Christ, it is His will for you, too. Do you believe that?
The New Testament is littered with references to joy. Jesus talks a lot about joy. In fact, he hopes very specifically for his disciples to be full of joy. Paul writes in his letters, many times, of his own joy and his hope for the believers to also experience joy. James writes about joy. Peter writes about joy. John writes about joy. Jude writes about joy. It’s a theme that makes its way throughout all the New Testament. And that makes good sense, because the angels declared to the shepherds in Luke 2 that they were bringing good news of great joy. The gospel of Jesus is a message of great joy to be experienced by those who receive that good news.
The pressures of life, the burdens of unmet expectations, the busyness of our schedules, the worry about the opinions of others, the sinful choices we’ve made, the sinful choices others have made that impact us, and the pains from life in a broken world seem to work together to keep us from joy. But somehow, this joy we can experience from the Lord is able to transcend our circumstances.
As I look through the New Testament references to joy, I am struck by two specific ways to experience joy. First, and chiefly, our joy comes from an abiding relationship with the Lord. He gives us joy as we draw near to Him. And it is ok to specifically ask for the Lord to grow our joy, too! We serve a good God who longs to grant us good things, and joy is one of the many good things he surely wants to provide for us. If you are hopeful to experience more joy, it would be wise to pray toward that end.
There is a second, and perhaps surprising, source of joy in the New Testament. It is clear from Paul’s writings that he experiences joy as he gives his life away in service to others, in an effort to help them know Jesus. Over and over in Paul’s letters, he tells the recipients that they bring him so much joy, as he sees their faithfulness to the Lord. And John says in 3 John 1:3-4 “For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth—how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.”
So it is quite reasonable to expect that, if we want to experience joy, we would also be well-advised to invest our lives in serving others, praying for others, caring for others, all with a primary aim that they would be formed in Christlikeness. It starts in families, for sure, and there are so many opportunities for this kind of sacrificial ministry that exists within the life of the church body, as well.
Lord, we ask that you with fill us with joy overflowing as we draw near to you and as we give our lives away in an effort to see others know and walk with you, too!
Pastor Ryan Donovan
Categories: Evergreen Connection