Written by Paul J Bucknell on August, 09, 2019

Attain God’s Joy: How does a Christian find joy?

How does a Christian find joy?

With Study Questions

The Source of Joy

Where does joy come from? What is the source of this joy and experience in a believer’s life? 

The Bible uses the word ‘joy’ 211 times (NASB). Along with this frequently used term are a few synonymous words like “rejoice” and “glad.” God designed Christians to celebrate His excellent hand on their lives with joy. Perhaps the most famous call to be filled with God’s joy is found in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” 

Even in the heavily-packed theological Book of Romans, joy is mentioned as a hallmark of the Christian life. “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Whatever overtones might be associated with the kingdom of God, the ecstasy of God’s saving work should overtake all of one’s struggles and pains. Righteousness, peace, and joy stem from the constant infilling of the Holy Spirit.

All Christians should anticipate being regularly encouraged by the joy of the Lord, no matter how long they have believed. Indeed, you have seen bright new believers with beaming faces, having just come to know the Lord. But, like me, you also have seen many professing Christians who lack that joy, indicating that there are factors that foster that joy and deep pits where that joy can be lost. 

There are two general musts to fly a giant hot air balloon. Before one ascends and glides over the earth's surface, 1) the heavyweights tied to heavy ropes must be released. 2) hot air must be produced to create lighter air to overcome the effects of gravity. And so, a believer has some spiritual duties to maintain one’s joy. Let’s first look at the heavy loads that will keep our hearts from rejoicing in our God and then look at some positive things we can do on our part to rejoice in the Lord always.

Heavy Burdens of the Soul

One must free oneself from the dragging weights of the soul to experience the fullness of God’s joy. 

For example, joy in our lives is conditioned upon obedience. When we compromise our integrity, our soul is troubled. There is no peace with God and joy filling our souls when we trade in our faithfulness. 

Our problems are not just the wrongs we have done but how we improperly handle our past sins. Christians know they shouldn’t have said something or blown up in anger at their spouse. They try to smooth things by saying, “I’ll try better next time.” A half-apology is no apology. Instead of protecting some element of one’s pride, a confessing believer ought to fully state what he has done wrong, tell what right thing he should have done, and seek the other’s forgiveness (Mat 5:24). When maintaining harmony in our relationships, our joy flows. Still, without offering forgiveness, it can never be found.

Joy stems from gleaming grace from the gospel, so any wrong understanding of the gospel weighs down one’s Christian life. Legalism, for instance, strips away the glory of God’s grace and the joy found in the freedom of Christ because they rely on their good works rather than on Jesus’ good work on their behalf. Joy arises from embracing the full grace of God found in Jesus (Rom 5:2). 

“Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).

Likewise, those who primarily use the Lord to gain more in this life will never discover God’s joy because they are looking in the wrong place for the wrong thing. They are searching in the world’s junk pile of success, which is readied to be burned rather than seeking Christ’s purpose for their lives.

Another weight holding back God’s joy is pride, which issues enjoyment from an argument or discussion of the truth rather than personal experience of the joy of the teachings of the faith. I have seen so many conversations on election—God’s choice of us before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4)—not lead to triumph over God’s willingness to choose them to be His forever. More often than not, the power of the truth gets lost in the heated differences of opinion.

Our unwillingness to fully follow God’s leading for our lives becomes a dead weight, keeping the joy of the Lord from our souls. If God leads in one direction, but like Jonah, we proceed in the opposite direction, there will be no joy—no matter how much theology one has studied or verses memorized. 

I have only highlighted a few of the many weights that hold us back in our relationship with the Lord and interfere with the rediscoveries of the Lord’s joy.

Discover God’s Joy

So, using our hot-air balloon analogy, how is the heat created, causing the balloon to fly? What makes joy arise from deep within? Remember, a Christian does not create joy as it is the fruit or product of the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to make our lives conducive to the filling of the Spirit. Nor should we look for steps 1-2-3 to instill God’s joy in us but to observe the number of things that need to attain the Spirit’s joy. Here are some thoughts.

So, using our hot-air balloon analogy, how is the heat created, causing the balloon to fly? What makes joy arise from deep within? Remember, a Christian does not create joy as it is the fruit or product of the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to make our lives conducive to the filling of the Spirit. Nor should we look for steps 1-2-3 to instill God’s joy in us but to observe the number of things that need to attain the Spirit’s joy. Here are some thoughts.

Joy commonly appears when we regularly meet with the Lord in His Word and our minds are captured with delight at the great love of God. Like standing on the edge of a high cliff, we are overwhelmed with the fantastic ways He exercises His glorious purposes in this dreary world. “The Lord reigns!”

These are just a few ways we cultivate sufficient room in our souls for the Holy Spirit to exude His joy. Together, as we follow Christ, He turns the heat of our balloon up and causes us to arise in the delight of our Lord.

Happiness and Joy

How is joy different from happiness? Happiness describes the general excitement of altogether pleasant situations, present or future. Joy, though not contrary to pleasant circumstances, does not depend on them but arises from our contemplation of the Lord and His overall care for our lives.

The situation can be most unpleasant and even life-threatening—like Paul was unfairly placed in a prison cell. But the Lord’s presence and promises so strongly affect our minds and dispositions that our hearts become joyful, delighting in the Lord’s beautiful ways. “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). The promises of God’s truth burst through any dungeon walls with the flames of God’s truth. 

Joy doesn’t come from our surrounding circumstances but is built upon the bedrock of God’s truth, which has already been sealed in the work of God’s love in Christ, who died for our sins. In Romans 8, Paul highlights two panoramas that bring great joy by producing a vibrant hope even for those facing horrific situations (Saving View 8:28-30; Love View 8:37-39).

The promises of God’s truth burst through any impenetrable walls with the flames of God’s truth.

Finding Joy in Tragic Situations

What if my life’s situation forms part of a tragic story? For example, one Christian wife’s husband ran off with another woman and then claimed a large part of her money. Or what if I am facing some disease that slowly steals my health and strength? These situations, and be assured that there are many variations, should similarly lead us to meditate on the promises of God for our present and future and be concerned for others. 

First, never consider yourselves as abandoned, a castaway of the Lord. If you genuinely belong to Him, rest in His claim and ownership of you. Yes, those around us might consider us valueless or even bothersome, but this is all the more reason to keep God’s Word close to our hearts to renew our minds with His perspective of our lives (Rom 12:2). 

Second, put away all bitterness and griping of one’s circumstances. All such responses depict a lack of trust in God’s good ways of dealing with your lives, so joy is restrained. By stepping beyond the shores of bitterness, we open wide the floodgates, welcoming the uplifting joy of the Lord. Yes, we might be spiritually disciplined for wrong in our own lives (1 Pet 3:17), or pruned (John 15:1-4), but we still can find delight in both as God is ultimately and wonderfully causing us to flourish in His sight by more closely following His ways.

Third, take the magnificent promises of God and let them lead you into an increasingly deeper trust relationship with God that never ends! You trust Him with all your difficulties and entirely rely on His ways to lead you into green pastures (Psalm 23)—no matter how long it takes. You probably don’t know how or when He will deliver you, but your joy comes from your trust rather than the change of circumstances and, therefore, abides even during testing times. Even when dying, we can face death with the hope and joy of eternal life. Paul, in 1 Timothy 6:12, awaiting his death for the Lord’s service, says to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.”

Thanks, Gratefulness, and Joy

A brother wrote, “I do give thanks, but it does not mean much to me.” Thanks, gratefulness, and joy are interrelated. Thanks can only mean giving thanks or saying, “Thank you, God.” Many people give thanks for their meal but consider it a necessity rather than an act of gratefulness. You need to transform your thankfulness into gratefulness to bring forth the ripened sense of belief and honor towards God.

Gratefulness speaks of the inward deep reverence and appreciation for the kind treatment from one towards another. In this case, we talk about God’s acts of love, stirring and moving our hearts. By only giving thanks, one resembles a one-legged man—not enough to display one’s potential fully. But when combined with gratefulness, a man can leap, run, and jump, and so thanks come alive when combined with gratefulness. So where does joy come in?

Joy is the exuberant wonder released from a pent-up ball of gratefulness and remains only a tiny step away from gratefulness. While gratefulness humbly detects God’s undeserved kindness, joy is the inward and outward expression of delight over God’s help. And so, a believer, with the work of God done in his heart, should naturally be filled with joy. The lack of joy reveals something missing from a believer’s life—perhaps sin weighing him down or not spending enough concentrated time with the Lord. 

Conclusion

Only a little has been shared regarding this massive issue of joy. Joy is a signature of our faith and makes us strong in our faith, undaunted by life’s changing circumstances. Nehemiah, who regularly faced much opposition, says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” 

“The joy of the Lord is my strength” (Neh 8:10)

Nehemiah could have concluded, for himself or for others, that returning to the homeland of Israel to rebuild would have been honored by the Lord by not having to face so much oppression and treachery. Again, if we look at our circumstances, we will fail to find joy. Still, when peering at God’s promises, an ongoing flood of joy can accompany our lives, enough for whatever situation we find ourselves in.

Move beyond giving thanks until you connect God’s undeserved goodness (i.e., grace) to you. Joy exudes as you revel in these richer and nobler thoughts of God’s goodness without questioning His good purposes.

Discussion Questions for “Attain God’s Joy”

1. What is the difference between happiness and joy?
2. Why does the author state that joy is the hallmark of the Christian faith? What does it practically mean?
3. Describe how the picture of the hot air balloon helps illustrate a Christian can attain an abiding joy.
4. Where does joy (from the Lord) come from?
5. List two ways a false understanding of the Gospel can steal one’s joy in the Lord.
6. Think of the times you privately meet with the Lord in His Word. Do you experience His joy? Over what? When?
7. How do we know His people who face challenging circumstances can abide in His joy?
8. How does our bitterness cut out our joy in the Lord?
9. Do your own Bible search on joy. Search for joy (or “rejoice) and pick out three verses that stand out most. Explain why they are so precious to you. Memorize them.
10. Do you think it is God’s will for you to be filled with joy in the Lord? Why so?