Gretchen Rubin wrote a book titled The Happiness Project. She lived a life of comfort with family, friends, a successful career, and good health. But she felt angry, insecure, and guilt-ridden. Her life lacked happiness. She decided to spend a year changing her life in ways that would bring her the happiness she was missing.
She studied multiple gurus from Oprah Winfrey and Virginia Wolf to the Dali Lama and Buddha. She decided that happiness can be brought into a life through behaviors and attitudes such as discipline, commitment, passion, and contemplation. Her subsequent book was a best-seller for two years. Apparently other Americans are feeling the same malaise in their lives.
Author Eric Metaxas believes that this malaise is more than the absence of happiness. It is the lack of joy that only comes from a life focused on Jesus. God wants us to rejoice in him. God promises us joy. In the Bible the words joy and happiness are used interchangeably. Joy which is from the fruit of the Spirit enters into us through heart, mind, and soul. It changes us from the inside out. We do not need to search for external things to give us joy. We can be filled with joy by God.
In America we have every conceivable luxury that is only a click away. If things could bring happiness then we should be the happiest people in the world. But in America depression affects 19% of adults and anxiety affects 18% of adults. A federal study found that suicide rates have increased to the highest level in thirty years. A worldwide study found that the ten riches countries in the world have the highest rates of depression. Obviously, possessions and money are not what make us happy or joyful.
Happiness is about what happens to us and around us. It can be the result of our circumstances, behaviors, or attitudes. But the joy of Christ is about a relationship with a person. A relationship with Jesus. It is something God offers to us and something that we must choose. Joy from God is freely available to us. We only need to accept Jesus and let him lead us into a life of greater joy.
As Christians our lives are marked by meaningful and joyful milestones. One milestone is salvation which is spiritual delivery from separation from God. The New Testament tells us that salvation is a time of great joy. Salvation is the moment we are found. The lyrics from the hymn Amazing Grace are “I once was lost but now am found.” Millions of people sing Amazing Grace while recalling their salvation.
In Luke 15 there are three stories of the joy experienced when lost things are found. A shepherd experienced joy when the lost lamb was found after the shepherd left the ninety-nine to search for the one lost. The shepherd calls his friends and says ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ A woman experienced joy when she searched through her house until she found a lost coin. She calls her friends and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ The prodigal son and his father experienced joy when the son returns home after losing himself in wild living and realizing he would be happier returning home. The father said that his son ‘was lost and is found.’ Then the father gave a party to celebrate his son’s return.
Jesus tells of the great joy in heaven when one soul is saved.
Luke 15:7 NKJV
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. The Ethiopian eunuch was saved and went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:39 NKJV
Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. The Philippian jailer was filled with joy when his entire family was saved.
Acts 16:34 NKJV
Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Another milestone in a Christian’s life is baptism. The entire church rejoices when an infant is baptized on Sunday morning and welcomes the infant into the church. When Jesus was baptized by John, God was pleased.
Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Other Christian milestones are trials and discouragement. Though we do not want to endure either, these can be times of joy as we draw closer to Jesus. Jesus told us we should see trials and discouragement through the lens of joy.
Luke 6:22-23 NKJV
Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
This is echoed in the Epistles.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 NKJV
And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
James 1:2 NKJ
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
When Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in jail in Philippi, they decided to spend their time praying and singing hymns.
Acts 16:25 NKJV
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
It can be difficult for us to understand the trails the first century church endured. Even today there are Christians in many parts of the world suffering for their faith in Christ. In America we have churches on multiple street corners and book stores full of Christian books. Devotionals and testimonials are emailed directly to our inboxes every day. We often live focused on avoiding any trial or tribulation that comes our way. But when we focus on our comforts, we may be missing the very thing God will use to draw us closer to himself. We cannot avoid all hardship but we can rest in the assurance that through it all there is a loving Father ready to comfort us and give us joy in the midst of tribulation.
This does not mean we live a stoic life and pretend pain and suffering do not affect us. As Christians there is a time for weeping, grieving, and crying out to God for help. We feel our emotions but rather than laying down in pain and self-pity we remember that God can work all things for our good. If we will trust and obey him, he can restore our joy in the midst of suffering.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
Psalm 51:12 NKJV
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
A final milestone is death. Paul, Peter, and John each expressed the anticipation of joy when they would die.
Acts 20:24 NKJV
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
1 Peter 1:8 NIV
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy
Revelation 14:13 NIV
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
God experiences joy and he wants to share that experience with us.
Isaiah 62:5 NIV
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 65:19 NIV
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; Jesus enjoyed joyous moments. His first miracle was at a wedding where he changed water into wine. When Jesus healed people there was joy and rejoicing.
Luke 13:13 NIV
Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. When the apostles healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, there was rejoicing.
Acts 3:7-8 NIV
Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Our joy is a priority for Jesus. God wants us to be joyful Christians.
John 15:11 NIV
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. God commands us to be rejoice.
Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
We may not rejoice at our circumstances or the load we are carrying. But we can rejoice in our Lord. We can rejoice in our relationship with Jesus and the many ways he has blessed us and the ways he walks with us through all circumstances.
When we accept Jesus as Lord and savior, we are allowing him to live through us and impart his joy to us. Jesus’ joy is complete. It is not partial or faltering joy. This is a unique joy that we cannot conjure up from our own abilities. We must rely on God to give us this joy as we draw closer to him.
Because Jesus never changes his joy never changes. His joy is continuous. Because we are relying on his joy to fill us up then our joy can be continuous and overflowing.
When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. He is the one who supplies us with joy. As we give ourselves over to the guidance of the Holy Spirit we are filled with peace and joy as we rest in him.
Romans 14:17 NIV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Studying the Bible helps us to understand this joy that God in imparting to us. The New International Version translation contains over 380 references to joy, joyful, joyfully, joyous, and rejoicing. The author suggests to begin studying joy in the Bible with the book of Philippians. Paul is writing from prison but he refers to joy and rejoices thirteen times. The letter’s theme is joy. Paul’s joy came from his relationship with Jesus. He mentions Jesus in Philippians forty times.
The Old Testament book of Nehemiah is another example of joy in the Bible. After the return from captivity the book of Moses was discovered in Jerusalem. Ezra read the book to all the people from morning to midday. After hearing the words of the Lord, the people went away with rejoicing.
Nehemiah 8:12 NIV
Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. God commands us to be rejoice.
Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
We may not rejoice at our circumstances or the load we are carrying. But we can rejoice in our Lord. We can rejoice in our relationship with Jesus and the many ways he has blessed us and the ways he walks with us through all circumstances.
When we accept Jesus as Lord and savior, we are allowing him to live through us and impart his joy to us. Jesus’ joy is complete. It is not partial or faltering joy. This is a unique joy that we cannot conjure up from our own abilities. We must rely on God to give us this joy as we draw closer to him.
Because Jesus never changes his joy never changes. His joy is continuous. Because we are relying on his joy to fill us up then our joy can be continuous and overflowing.
When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. He is the one who supplies us with joy. As we give ourselves over to the guidance of the Holy Spirit we are filled with peace and joy as we rest in him.
Romans 14:17 NIV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Studying the Bible helps us to understand this joy that God in imparting to us. The New International Version translation contains over 380 references to joy, joyful, joyfully, joyous, and rejoicing. The author suggests to begin studying joy in the Bible with the book of Philippians. Paul is writing from prison but he refers to joy and rejoices thirteen times. The letter’s theme is joy. Paul’s joy came from his relationship with Jesus. He mentions Jesus in Philippians forty times.
The Old Testament book of Nehemiah is another example of joy in the Bible. After the return from captivity the book of Moses was discovered in Jerusalem. Ezra read the book to all the people from morning to midday. After hearing the words of the Lord, the people went away with rejoicing.
Nehemiah 8:12 NIV
Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
