GOD’S JOYFUL HEART

“These things I have spoken to you, that MY JOY may remain in you, and that YOUR JOY may be FULL” – John 15:11

No peak of human happiness or ecstasys can surpass the Joy that flows from GODS JOYFUL HEART: “These things I have spoken to you, that MY JOY may remain in you, and that YOUR JOY may be FULL” (Jh.15:11). Jesus was incredibly Joyful! Using the illustration of the Vine and branches, Jesus had just told His disciples that they should stay connected to Him in order to be fruitful (vv.4-5). He then revealed the added blessing behind this instruction: “that MY JOY may remain in you, and that YOUR JOY may be FULL” (v.11). God not only wants us to be fruitful; He wants us to be completely Joyful – filled and full of His Joy! He reiterated this truth: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (Jh.16:24).

The basis of our Joy as Believers in Christ is that our GOD is JOYFUL – GOD is JOY-FULL! Joy lives in the Heart of God! He has an infinite capacity for Joy. His Heart overflows with Inexplicable Joy! God wants to fill us with HIS JOY!

The revelation of the Joyful God is all over in the Bible! All through the Old Testament, God commands His people to rejoice; hence He ordained feast days and holy days: special days of celebration and rejoicing in His Goodness. God rejoices over His people: “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa.62:5). Such pure Joy and holy delight! Zephaniah 3:17 echoes this: “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” According to C. S. Lewis, “Joy is the serious business of heaven”!

A fascinating illustration of God’s Joyful Heart is found in Proverbs 8:30-31, “Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.” God’s Wisdom – in the Person of Jesus – was at creation rejoicing in what He has made. God has been Joyful from the very beginning!

Jesus personified God’s Joyful Heart, taught joy-filling truths, and ushered humanity into the Fullness of His Joy. At His birth, the angels announced “good tidings of GREAT JOY” – fresh entry of Joy on earth (Lk.2:10). He spread Joy around. His first recorded miracle was at a marriage feast, where He rekindled Joy, turned water into wine, and kept the party going. He spoke of how God and heaven rejoice when the lost are found: when one sinner repents amidst ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Lk.15:7b,10). He portrayed the Father’s Joyful Heart in the picture of the father who received and restored his prodigal son with feasting and celebration (Lk.15:22-24).

In His Priestly Prayer before Calvary, Jesus prayed to the Father for His Church: “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have MY JOY fulfilled in themselves” (Jh.17:13). He wants us to partake in the full measure of His Joy!

Now, one may ask: Where in all this is the sorrow of God? A wise person wrote: “Yes, God knows sorrow, but the sorrow of God and the anger of God are His temporary response to a fallen world, and they will be banished forever on that day when the world is finally set right.” Scriptures confirm this: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning” (Psa.30:5). God’s anger is momentary; weeping lasts for a night; but God’s Joy is forever! Joy is intrinsic in God’s character. Joy is in His Heart! Joy is the gift to people who live at the Heart of God!! Embrace His Heart; embrace His Joy!