This week at Grace Church we are celebrating the fourth week in Advent, which is joy. The Bible talks a lot about joy. From Genesis to Revelation there is a call to be joyful in all things—the good, the bad, the ugly…be joyful. At first glance, the call to be joyful no matter what seems to be an impossible endeavor. How are we to be joyful in all things? I don’t know about you but there are definitely days when it’s hard to find and/or maintain a joyful heart. Here are a few things that I hope will point us in the right direction when it comes to true joy…

1. God’s greatest joy is found in himself~ True joy stems from Him. No other something or someone can satisfy the longing of our hearts for true joy but God himself. God can’t fill us with something He lacks. God is joyful, and as such He is our source for joy. But, don’t confuse this joy with apathy or the Santa Clause complex. God may be completely joyful but he’s also just, righteous, holy, and a consuming fire. We must be careful not to praise one attribute of God over another and so lessen all of them. (1 Chronicles 16:27)

2. God finds joy in his people~ God finds joy in his people because His people have His joy. Think about that. God enjoys you. For some of us, this is hard to believe. The idea that God enjoys or is joyful towards me is a hard pill to swallow mostly because I know what a ‘joy’ I can be sometimes. Yet, remember he doesn’t enjoy us because you and I are such great conversationalists. He enjoys us because when he sees us—he sees Christ. He enjoys us because He’s placed His joy in us through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. (Zephaniah 3:17, Galatians 5:22)

3. Our strength comes from God’s joy in us~ Notice, our strength is NOT found in our own ability to create or sustain joy. If we’re honest with ourselves, we all know how exhausting it is to try and conjure up some kind of joy, especially the kind of joy we put on for others to see. The moment we place our joy and satisfaction in anything other than God we lose our strength. Personally, I think this is why we have so many defeated, bitter, unhappy ‘Christians’ walking around because we’ve traded true joy for feel good happiness. Ultimately, this is when we lose our joy, when it’s placed in something outside of God. (Nehemiah 8:10)

4. We worship those things that bring us the greatest joy~ The truth being, if we place our joy and trust in something other than God than we become idolaters because inevitably we will worship whatever brings us the greatest joy. This is why God has designed you and me to worship Him alone because He, in His grace, is pointing us to the one thing that can satisfy the longing of our hearts— Himself. This doesn’t mean we don’t find joy and happiness in God’s good and perfect gifts. Instead, it means we are careful not to trade the worship of the Uncreated for the created. (Romans 1:25, Psalm 20:5)

5. We can be joyful in every circumstance when our joy is found wholly in God~ If my joy is truly placed in the God who never changes, who is always joyful…this means that no matter what my circumstances are, I can be joyful. Circumstances come and go but God is my constant. Debbie Downers and Life itself will try and steal your joy. This is a fact. But, when my joy comes from God’s joy resting in me—I no longer need anyone’s or anything’s acceptance and approval to be joyful. This kind of joy is an internal reality produced by being united with Christ. (James 1:2)

My prayer is that today you would come to taste and experience the joy of the Lord. That no matter what life throws at you—you would have peace and joy because you have placed your trust and satisfaction in God alone. Remember true joy stems from our joyful God, not our circumstances.