Finding Real Joy

The world tells us we should pursue happiness with everything that we have, but for us, as Christians, happiness is not the goal. It would be nice to be able to say that God wants us happy all the time no matter what the cost, but I can’t say that.  Does God want us to live joyful lives?  Yes, absolutely.  Does God want us happy all the time?  No, and especially not in the fleeting, changing, amorphous way the world defines happiness. What God wants for us a real joy that has nothing to do with happiness.  We are called to a joy that can only be found in Him.  As we are told in John 15:11, we are told these things so that the joy of Christ may be in us and so that our joy may be complete.

Having real joy does not mean that we walk around with fake smiles on our faces, or that we have to be like those people who are just strangely happy all the time no matter what may happen in their lives.  Real joy is not about circumstances, but about a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is out of this relationship that we find stability, that we find a foundation on which to build our lives, and through that we find a joy that is only available in Him.

People will say, you have a beautiful healthy family, take joy in that.  Really, that is where I should find my joy.  As many of you know firsthand, a diagnosis can change all of that in an instant, and if that is where your hope is placed, then what?  Where is your joy then?  What about your job, or your home, or your success, all of those things are fleeting and can change in an instant.  Real joy is not found in the things of this world, or found in whether or not we are happy that moment of even that day.  True joy, real joy, is found only in Christ.

Having real joy comes down to trust.  It is trusting that God really will do what he said he is going to do.  That God really does have a plan for you, that God really does want what is best for you, that God really has forgiven you and freed you for eternal life.  But knowing those things in your head and living by them in your heart are two totally different things.  We think, I know that God has a plan for me and is working all things out for my good, but I’ve got this issue over here and if you only knew what it really was you would understand.  Or we think, I just need to get this fixed and then God can take over.  Or no one really understands what I am going through, how hard this is, if you only knew you would understand why I am the way I am.  Well, you know what, there is someone who understands, and his name is Jesus, and yes, the complete joy of Christ can still be in us in spite of everything going on around us.

Having real joy in Christ is a journey and takes a lifetime.  It is about cultivating a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in our lives.  It is about trusting that the God of the universe really does have our back, and that God has blessed us far more than we can begin to count and those blessings do not stop when bad news hits.  It is about getting that bad news, that diagnosis, that phone call in the middle of the night and knowing that it is not all up to us to fix it.  We can have peace and joy because we know that God has a plan for us and truly cares for us. We know that God can take care of whatever this situation is too, and that God will continue to walk with us, even through the dark days. There will still be tears and worry, but there will also be joy because we know that the things of this world are temporary and that this world is not our home.

It is by keeping our focus on God and following God’s plan for us that we find true joy in Christ that far surpasses anything the world can give us.  The joy that God calls us to is different from the happiness this world shows us, it is not just based on feelings and what feels good in that moment, but on so much more that God has for us.  It is being able to say to the world, “bring it because my joy is not in you.  You may be able to take my happiness, but you can never take my joy because it is found in God alone, the maker and creator, the redeemer and sustainer, and in the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and against that world, you got nothing!”

God wants us to know and experience real joy, a joy not based on things of this world, but on God alone who loves us unconditionally and will never change.  We are reminded in Scripture to seek first the kingdom of God, not seek first our own happiness.  As we are reminded in the Psalms and by Paul, the happiness and joy that God can give us is far greater than anything the world can tempt us with and far stronger than anything we may encounter in the journey of life.  May we live focused on Christ, on who God is and all that God has done for us, and on the amazing blessings that God has given us, that we may truly experience the real joy, the complete Godly joy that God has for us.