Lasting Joy

What fills my life with joy? What causes me to be the happiest? Where or in whom do I find the most pleasure? In my life I have found that these questions can either haunt me or they can set me free. Who or what you receive your joy and happiness from controls the joy and happiness in your life. For example, if I receive most of my joy from my job and then lose my job I have consequently lost my joy as well. When I find myself depressed or consistently unhappy I know I have placed my hope for happiness in the wrong person or thing.

The only place I have found that can give any real hope for continual joy and happiness is the person of Jesus. “In His presence is fullness of Joy and at His right hand are pleasures ever more” Psalms 16:11. I can truly say with Paul “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him” Philippians 3:7-8. All this life can offer me cannot be compared with the joy and pleasure of being in my Beloved Jesus’ presence. I love this quote form Sam Storms “You weren’t created for boredom or burnout or bondage to sexual lust or greed or ambition but for the incomparable pleasure and matchless joy that knowing Jesus alone can bring. Only then, in Him, will you encounter the life-changing, thirst-quenching, soul-satisfying delight that God, for His glory, created you to experience.”

The only way I am able to overcome sin is when I realize that sin is not giving me pleasure or happiness but in reality it is robbing me of the superior joy and pleasure of communion with my beautiful Jesus. Satan’s best trick is to make me and you think we are missing out on some fun or pleasure. That following Jesus it not worth missing out on what life has to offer. But I can say with Solomon “Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content” Ecclesiastes 1:8. The only source of real lasting joy is in Christ Jesus my Lord. “To be in Christ is the source of the Christian’s life; to be like Christ is the sum of His excellence; to be with Christ is the fullness of His joy.” – Charles Hodge

My goal is to know my Savior and the joy of His fellowship to the extent that no matter what my circumstances I will be only content in Him. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard you heart and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:4-7.

Rebekah Bullen