Very little joy exists in the world today. Instead, there appears to be a dedication to heaviness and to sorrow. The heaviness and sorrow may be a part of God’s dealings upon mankind, for Joel’s prophecy tells us that joy is withered away from the sons of men (Joel 1:12).
The current generation has seen the age of comedy die. Comedians like Laurel and Hardy, Old Stoneface, and the Kid no longer exist. Their appeal was widespread even during the depression, for when a person watched those old movies he forgot his troubles and laughed until his sides ached. For the most part, the movies of today are bloody and violent, filled with every crime imaginable. In the name of liberty, the movie maker includes everything possible of licentiousness in his films. Moral standards are such that unless a movie is filled with lust or violence, it is not considered very popular.
Joy is gone; the good old belly laugh is gone. The days of small children sitting around, listening to older folks tell stories by the hour, are gone. In time those old folks believed that the stories had actually happened. They were interesting human stories, filled with humor. In those days people were able to laugh at themselves and at the world.
Today’s world is different; it is filled with many things that cause heaviness. However, this present heaviness is very much in the plan of God, for He has created a situation in the world which makes it impossible for people to find any natural, spontaneous joy. The joy of living seems to have disappeared from most people’s lives; in fact, their very existence is a heaviness to them. They do not know what they want to do with their life. They labor for so much, yet they get so little out of life. In contrast, the Lord is bringing to His people the promise of a crown of joy. Isaiah 51:11 says that those who return to Zion will be crowned with everlasting joy. That is God’s promise that in the midst of all the heaviness, the believer will acquire a supernatural, blessed joy!
In John 15:11 Christ said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” His concern was not that Christians merely be happy. When Peter spoke of the believers in the early Church he told how they rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). He was referring to those who were experiencing indescribable trials, testings, and persecutions. In view of their circumstances, there was no explanation for that joy. It was Christ’s joy.
A great deal of what people seek for their lives will never be found. They come into a walk with God expecting it to be the answer to every problem. They think that God will work out their problems, and that all their circumstances will be so benign that they will be able to rejoice in the Lord all the time, singing from morning to night! However, the real songs of the New Testament were not written in that way. In Acts 16 we read that after a severe beating in the public square, Paul and Silas were put in jail. Their hands and feet were placed in stocks, leaving no way for them even to minister to their wounds. What did they do? They sang praises to the Lord! They were filled with joy. Acts 5 tells of the disciples being beaten; yet they went away rejoicing and filled with joy that they were permitted to suffer for His name’s sake. These people did not find the human occasion of joy in their circumstances; they found a joy coming from the Lord because they trusted God. It was a joy from within.
What God’s people call joy and happiness differs greatly from what the world calls joy and happiness. The world looks for joy and happiness to come from without, from circumstances or relationships. A romantic person thinks that if he could just fall in love, he would be happy; however, many fall in love and remain unhappy because they are predetermined to be unhappy. Others insist that if someone would just give them a million dollars they would be happy, but most people who do have a millions dollars still are not happy. On the other hand, many who do not have a million dollars are very happy and filled with joy. Joy is not created from without; it radiates from within.
Everyone faces certain circumstances and problems which could make them very unhappy. Is it true then that circumstances and problems are an occasion of unhappiness? Some of the most joyful men in the Scriptures were those who joyfully possessed the blessings of the Lord in the midst of adversity.
Three passages in John speak about the joy of the Lord being made full within your life as you seek God and ask of Him. Jesus said, “I want My joy to be in you, and your joy to be made full” (John 15:11). “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.” John 16:24. “But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” John 17:13.
You will be just as joyful as you determine to be. This principle also applies to faith and love. You will have as much faith and as much love as you determine to have. Hunger of the heart and faith of the heart are generated by the will. Determine to have love, joy, and faith, and you will have them.
A true Christian does not believe because he reasons it out. He does not love because he thinks it is reasonable. He is not happy because his circumstances make it reasonable. You will be just as happy, just as joyful, just as believing, and just as loving as you determine to be in your heart.
Notice what Paul has to say about this: For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. Romans 14:17, 18. Why did Paul say that the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking? When the ark of the covenant was brought back to Jerusalem, they began to worship the Lord. They all rejoiced and danced. When David gave a flagon of wine and a cluster of raisins to everyone, they all went home eating and rejoicing (I Chronicles 12 and 13). That may have been a type of something to come, for in this end time, God’s people are feasting on the Lord, experiencing the fact that the Kingdom of God actually is not eating and drinking.
A person coming to worship does not receive a bottle of wine or a cluster of raisins as he enters the church. When he comes in wanting to worship God in an acceptable way and believing for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, all he has to do is feast upon the Lord and believe that those attributes are actually available.
We know that it is impossible to please God unless we love our brother, and we know also that it is impossible to please God without faith. He that is born of God loveth—we must have love to please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him—we must have faith to please God. In addition to faith and love, the Kingdom of God also includes joy in the Holy Spirit. Being discouraged and walking around with a hangdog look does not please God; in fact, it is impossible to please Him if you are a “sad-sack saint.” A sad-sack saint is a person who thinks he can please God only if he is miserable, but the opposite is true. The believer who joyfully praises the Lord in the midst of adversity is the one who pleases God.
Along with the joy of the Lord, the believer experiences the severe travail of intercession. Therefore, it is necessary to have a faith that anticipates joy, even if there is no joy at the moment. Does a woman who is giving birth laugh aloud during the pain of travail? No, but she endures in order to see her unborn child thrust forth to live on its own. Similarly, Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). That is what God’s people are to do. No matter how heavy the situation, we are to be dedicated, totally committed, and without reservation, believing for the joy of the Lord.
Intercession becomes such a heavy experience that it is almost unendurable. Bearing the burden and travailing becomes a crushing load. For this reason, joy—not just a joy of anticipation, but a joy appropriated from the Lord—becomes a necessity.
Do not get the idea that God intends for joy to be something in which His people are irresponsible or unaware of other people’s problems. He wants us to be sorrowful when sorrow is warranted, but in the midst of it we must appropriate a sustaining joy from the Lord. Believe for it. Appropriate it!
Believe to be joyful and you will be joyful, for God is able to transmit all of His attributes to you. Therefore, if you can believe for the love of God to fill your heart, believe also for His joy to fill your heart. He wants His joy in your life. He does not want you to be a slave to anything; He wants you to be free—free to serve Him. He wants His joy within your life.