John 15:11 (NIV) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Everyone in this life strives to be happy, but happiness is very elusive and fragile because it is totally dependent on what happens. If good things happen, we are happy. If bad things happen, we get anxious and sad. Bad things outweigh good things. For example, if you had the means to buy that new car you always wanted, that would make you happy. But if two days later you lost your job, you would not only be sad, but you would be anxious and worried about how you will be able to pay for it.

We, as followers of Jesus, do not depend on happiness but instead, we focus on joy. We tell ourselves that joy is different than happiness because it doesn’t depend at all on happenings. That’s what has made me wonder why there are so many joyless Christians. I believe that the reason for that is that we have been so programmed throughout all of our lives to strive for happiness that we make the mistake of striving for joy as well. What we did was substitute the word joy for the word happiness, but we didn’t fully understand the difference. You don’t strive for joy. Joy is given to you by Jesus. It’s His gift to you. That gift comes from a very firm foundation. In the verse above, Jesus said that His joy will be in you because of what He had told His disciples in John 15:9. He told them that He loved them just as the Father loves Him. When Jesus’ love for you is the source of your joy, then it depends on nothing else. A relationship with a God who loves you regardless of all the wrong things you have done is the source of great joy and nothing can separate you from that love (Romans 8:38-39), which means that nothing should be able to separate you from the joy the Jesus has given you.

So if you want more joy, then all that means is more of Jesus. How do you get more of Jesus? Ask more, seek more, and knock more. The secret in asking more is that when you ask in the will of God, He answers you and then you get more joy. As a matter of fact, Jesus said that when that happens, your joy will be complete (John 16:24). Then there is seeking Him more and knocking on the door more. That just empowers you for a stronger and more intimate relationship with your Lord and Savior, which produces joy beyond joy. Joy beyond joy is called fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), which is what there is in the very presence of God. As God’s presence is with you more, the measure of your joy increases. I imagine that in heaven, our joy will be immeasurable! Jesus is the source of our joy. Get more joy by getting more of Him! There is no limit to how much of Him you can have.

Pastor Joey Vazquez