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These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
D.L. MOODY
People should look for joy in the Word, and not in the world. They should look for the joy, which the Scriptures furnish, and then go to work in the vineyard, because a joy that doesn’t send me out to someone else, a joy that doesn’t impel me to go and help the poor drunkard, a joy that doesn’t prompt me to visit the widow and the fatherless, a joy that doesn’t cause me to go into the Mission Sunday school or other Christian work, is not worth having, and is not from above. A joy that does not constrain me to go and work for the Master is purely sentiment and not real joy.
ERWIN LUTZER
People are able to fake love, peace, and patience, but they cannot fake joy. Joy is the one fruit of the spirit that cannot be superficially duplicated by the unconverted; it’s not a matter of positive thinking. In fact, Jesus explains “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Then later He adds these marvelous words in verse 11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” The bottom line: You cannot please Christ without being a fruit-bearing Christian, and if you are bearing fruit, you should do so with the divine gift of joy.
To abide in Christ is to live with a clear conscience with daily and hourly dependence on Him. All of us have many different tasks and challenges each day but if, in the morning, we spend time in God’s presence in full fellowship and obedience, we will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, including joy.
No one alive today personally knew D.L. Moody, but those who worked with him described him as full of vigor, passion, and unbounded joy. Let us follow his example.
PRAYER
Father, may your gift of joy overflow in my service for others.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Where do you most often look for joy—in Christ and His Word, or in the circumstances and pleasures of this world?
How does biblical joy look different than the word’s definition of joy?