When Our Joy Is Complete

Is your joy overflowing? Are the happenings of each day filling your heart with an overabundance of joy, peace and love?

The answers to these questions are relative to how you perceive each day. As the events of the day unfold, many recognize the bitterness and pain each event causes. Our hearts begin to think as Satan wishes we will, sorrow, suffering, pain and anguish. These things bring forth evil thoughts and turn our hearts from what is most important in our spirit. As believers in Christ Jesus, we should be filled with great joy.

Joy comes to us in many different ways. To the world it appears only when the pleasures of life are received, not when things do not go as we would expect or like. To the true Christian, this is the opposite of how our joy can be complete.

Let us examine how our joy can and when it becomes complete.

During life, many obstacles are placed in our way by the world, especially to those who are a believer in Jesus or are becoming a learner on their way to becoming a believer. Satan and the world do not wish for our lives to be filled with the joy of righteousness; only the lusts of the flesh. Believers notice how those of the world seem to be richly blessed with material possessions, friends, wealth, and all the lasciviousness of this world. At the same time believers notice the persecutions the world inflicts upon them for not being a part of their world and participating in their debauchery. So they do their best to take away our freedom to believe; take away our joy.

So what is joy and how does it provide for us as believers in this world so as to make our joy complete?

JOY: Joy is an intense, long-lasting state of happiness, contentment, and deep delight that often stems from inner peace or a sense of well-being rather than just external circumstances. Unlike temporary pleasure, joy is often viewed as a conscious choice, a lasting emotion, or a spiritual gift that persists through difficult times.

Earthly Joy can be derived from accomplishments or relationships one develops with others in this world. It is only a temporary joy because it is a worldly perceived form of happiness. It is truly temporary because it does not last through eternity. One can derive from the true definition of joy that it is not a sustaining joy because it is not a long-lasting state of happiness. A true Christian cannot become content with worldly joy nor obtain inner peace therein.

Where does everlasting joy originate and become the long-lasting joy within a Christians heart?

Turn to John 16:17-20. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

Jesus is introducing his disciples to what true joy is and from whence it shall come. Jesus tells them he is going away and the world shall rejoice because it believes it has totally destroyed him and no one else shall ever hear from him again. The power of God shall be forever removed from humanity and Satan’s world. These disciples will be saddened but the world shall rejoice. Even today, if the evils of this world inflict pain and suffering, perhaps even death to a believer, they think they have gained victory over Jesus and God and rejoice in their iniquities. But Jesus is telling his disciples he will forever live; he will return and they shall see him again. Jesus says their sorrow over his physical death and believed removal from life will be turned to joy.

What is this joy? It is the fact they shall see him alive again. To a believer today, we hold to the hope that we shall see The Christ alive in the spirit when Jesus comes in the clouds and gathers us with him to enter into everlasting life in heaven.

Vs. 21 is an example Jesus tells his disciples. From it we can comprehend this joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. The pain and anguish of childbirth can overpower the human mind. At the time of childbirth, this is the only thing the woman feels. Some people have witnessed a mother-to-be squeezing the husband’s hand strong enough to crush it while screaming harsh words at him for believing he is the very sole cause of this pain. But when the child is delivered, the pain goes away and joy for the new child overpowers the emotions of the mother.