ODJ: your version of joy
August 28, 2010
You will have abundant joy (v.24).
READ: John 16:16-24
So I was surfing the Web when the words of an online banner ad caught my eye. “Find your version of happiness now.” Interesting, huh? The fine print in the ad explained that it was for Personals—designed to link people in search of dates with other like-minded individuals.
Whether it’s finding Mr. or Ms. Right or simply ordering that deluxe pizza with anchovies you’ve been dying for, happiness waxes and wanes with the events of our lives. It’s a fickle and elusive emotion.
Joy, on the other hand, is not found in personals and pizzas. In John 16, Jesus said to His disciples, “You will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to Me, but the world will rejoice” (v.20). He was preparing them for His journey to the cross. They would experience intense grief over His death, while the world would celebrate.
But then Jesus told them, “Your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy” (v.20). The gloom and darkness of Jesus’ passing would be dispelled by His bright and glorious reappearance—by His resurrection from the dead.
We too are recipients of this joy. It flows from the realization that Jesus has died for us—taking the punishment for our sins on Himself—and that He rose again, proving that His promise of eternal life is real. Now that’s something to rejoice in!
Life is filled with twists and turns, sorrows and happy times. But Jesus tells us that our lives can and should be marked by “abundant joy” (v.24). This isn’t our “version of happiness,” it’s His provision of something real and lasting.
Have you been looking for happiness in all the wrong places? Instead, consider what Jesus has provided. He said, “No one can rob you of that joy” (v.22). —Tom Felten
What’s the difference between happiness and joy? What will it take for you to fully realize the joy found in Jesus?
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