MORE JOY

Happiness can be an illusive thing- here one minute, gone the next. You can be having the best day and suddenly watch it crash down around you when the smallest problem arises. There's not much you can do to have more happiness- but more joy? That's a different animal entirely.

Happiness depends on circumstances going our way, but joy- we can have joy even if problems are stampeding straight toward us. Consider the churches in Macedonia,
¹And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. ²Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. ³For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. ⁵And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).

They couldn't have been happy suffering from a poverty so severe Paul was ready to dismiss them from the offering he was gathering. But their joy was so great they insisted on giving their contribution too. What gave them this great joy and how can we have it too?

Jesus gives us His own joy. He knew that joy in the midst of persecution and opposition, even as He hung on the cross, suffering and dying in agony. What was His secret? In Hebrews 12:2 we read,
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The joy that was set before Jesus was the knowledge that He would be home in heaven before that day was over. That is what He was thinking when He told the criminal "today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

The knowledge that God is at peace with us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ gives us great joy because we know we will never face God's punishment for the wrongs we do. Knowing the eternal life God has promised to us for Jesus' sake gives us great joy to face the trials and difficulties we must face in this world until He returns again.

Then throughout that unending eternal life, our joy will be absolutely complete. And there will be no more disappointments, broken relationships, no suffering or death. To have more joy you just need to think of your future. Whatever problems may be draining away your joy and happiness today will be long gone once that day finally arrives. In heaven there will be no more suffering and pain, no more strained relationships, no more financial struggles, but everything will be pure joy and delight without end. Having that knowledge and fixing it in our minds gives us more joy today and every day until then.