10/12/2026
Are we filled with the joy that only Jesus and God can give us? Even in those times when we suffer or mourn is there an underlying joy that others will see in how we approach those things? When we have grasped the gospel of Jesus Christ, and brought God into our hearts as Lord and Master, joy bubbles up in us like a flood. This is the mark of our faith, and is easily seen by those around us. Have we received God’s seal of joy?
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:11 ESV
Jesus spoke these words as He gave us His fullness of Joy that comes when we abide in Him! We are meant to be joyful, even in the midst of great trials. I spoke with a woman a few years ago who had received news that would have devastated many. She received the diagnoses of cancer... and yet there was no defeat in her voice, only confidence and joy. She trusted in the Lord for her healing, and yet she was ready to face whatever was ahead because she trusted that it would be the will of God for her. As we talked I felt the joy increasing within me as it fed on her faith, and took sustenance from her deep and abiding faith and joy. In this time of great uncertainty, she was gaining strength from her faith, and in her I was being strengthened as well.
“...And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."”
Nehemiah 8:10 ESV
Joy is a gift from the Lord, and it is infectious. Joy can spread like wildfire in a church, a small group, or simply from one believer to another, and it carries with it a welling up of faith.
I listened to a pastor who told the story of a saintly woman he had known years before; she had reached the end days of her life and was dying. When she received the news that the end was coming soon, she called him to her and asked him to take that journey at her side. I am paraphrasing, but this is very close to what she spoke to him; she said, “You have known me as I lived a Christian life, are you ready to see how a Christian dies?”
When he told this story it was not one of sorrow, but was told with a sense of celebration and joy. He told of her faith in those last days, and the joy she exuded as she approached her face-to-face meeting with Jesus. She hadn’t asked him to mourn with her, but to rejoice... and he had witnessed her joy and faith as they were feeding on one another. As he told this story he spoke of being strengthened as well. Paul spoke of such an occurrence in his second letter to the Corinthians:
“as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”
2 Corinthians 6:10 ESV
We feel the quickening of our faith when we first believe, and we think that it couldn’t get any stronger than at this moment, and that the joy we are feeling couldn’t be any more intense, but as the years go by and it continues to grow and become more deeply rooted in us, it does. This is true of our faith, and of the joy we feel as it gushes forth from our ever-deepening trust and belief in God. For most of us this is faith in the unseen...
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
But for some of us there is a very real experience with what lies ahead. Some experience a brush with heaven, and the incredible joy that this brings, before their actual earthly death. One way this occurs is through a near death experience, and I know it firsthand. The joy in that moment is more intense than words can describe, and it fills every inch of our being. The joy of God, and Jesus Christ is a gift beyond description, and what we experience as our faith grows is just a taste of it. We know it wonderfully in life, and move towards its fullness, but one day we will know it in a way that can only be described as a lightning bolt of joy... intense, immediate, and overpowering! Are you ready for that degree of joy? Are you ready for that portion with which you will be filled one day? Are you prepared for it right now?
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
As we feel the joy of our faith, and show it to others, it increases both them and us. Joy is the evidence of our faith, and it is indeed contagious. What wells up within us like a gushing spring makes everything it touches wet. This warm water of our joy brings life to all who come in contact with it! Listen as Pastor Andrew Murray speaks of the joy we receive in God and Jesus Christ…
“Whether we look backward and see the work He has done, or upward and see the reward He has in the Father’s love that surpasses knowledge, or forward in anticipation of continual joy experienced as sinners are brought home, His joy is ours.” - Andrew Murray
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the amazing joy that you have given me, and I thank you for the faith that brings it forth in abundance! I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ whose life was an example to us all, and whose joy, even in His moment of death and despair, was full. Help me to increase in faith as I walk this spiritual journey with you Lord, and let your joy be my reward as it quickens my pace. There is nothing in this world that I will take with me when at last you call me home Holy Father, but I know that the joy with which I have been filled will follow me home to you, its source, and in that faithful moment will rush through me like a mighty bolt of lightning and thrill me in so doing. So, I know that there is no sorrow, remorse, mourning, or trouble that I will face in this world that that can defeat my faithfulness and overcome my joy. I find my consolation in you for all things in this life that are contrary to your goodness and joy, and as I do, your strength abounds in me despite my weaknesses. Your joy abounds in me despite even my greatest sorrows or suffering. Thank you Father for the reminder of heaven, and your presence there, and thank you for being here with me each day. I am flying on the wings of joy and made whole by your love for me. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God of Peace and Joy! Praised be your name now and forevermore!
“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
Psalm 63:5-7 ESV
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Halleluiah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes