Whatever Happened to Joy?

The Holy Spirit yearns to bring God’s people back to serving the Lord with joy and gladness. How grieved heaven must be to witness the wet blanket of despair and sadness that has fallen upon multitudes of believers. The Psalmist declared, “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15, NKJV). The prophet Isaiah also said, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).

When the Holy Spirit began to deal with me on the matter of serving him with joy, I had a difficult time facing the seriousness of the subject. I did not fully understand God’s attitude. I wondered how important it could be compared to all the heartbreaking problems in the world today.

Few Christians have a knowledge of the truth about liberty and Christ’s life-freeing sacrifice. They have never allowed the cross to set them free from all fear and bondage. We cannot rejoice and be exceedingly glad in our relationship with the Lord when we have limited knowledge of what happened at the cross.

You need not understand all the doctrines of atonement, reconciliation, propitiation, grace, sanctification, etc. All you need to know in order to live joyfully unto the Lord is this one foundational truth: God was completely satisfied with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross! It was all that was needed.

God now willingly and joyfully forgives all who repent. To not rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness is to doubt his full payment of our sins. Let the Spirit give you an understanding of this truth that we are called to liberty. God wants us to have an abundance of joy that is full and complete, pressed down and running over!

Christ prayed for his disciples, saying, “…these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). The Old Testament said, “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). God’s Word makes it perfectly clear that he yearns to be enjoyed by his saints.