The True Source of Joy

Narrator: Chris Genthree

• 1 min. read • grade level: 2

Romans 5:11¹¹And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11); Romans 15:13¹³Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:13); 1 John 1:1-4¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; ²(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) ³That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:1‑4)

God doesn’t ask us to rejoice over nothing; He gives us ground for our joy. What would you think of a man who seemed very happy today and full of joy, and couldn’t tell you what made him so? Suppose I should meet a man on the street, and he was so full of joy that he should get hold of both my hands and say:

“Bless the Lord, I am so full of joy!”

“What makes you so full of joy?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know!”

“No, I don’t; but I am so joyful that I just want to get out of the flesh.”

“What makes you feel so joyful?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

Would we not think such a person unreasonable? But there are a great many people who want to feel that they are Christians before they are Christians; they want the Christian’s experience before they become Christians; they want to have the joy of the Lord before they receive Jesus Christ. But this is not the Gospel order. He brings joy when He comes, and we cannot have joy apart from Him. He is the author of it, and we find our joy in Him.

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