J-O-Y

John 15:11 “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” NLT

During this past Christmas season, I was tasked with creating a window display for our store. Part of that display included the letters “J-O-Y,” cascading down an old ladder. I bought the 9” paper mache letters and brought them home to spray paint them red. I didn’t want to just lay them in the grass to paint them because I just knew that dead grass sprigs would get caught in the wet paint. So I laid them on our concrete driveway, confident that any residual paint would wash away when the winter rains/ice came in the new year. 

That very day that I painted those letters, my husband came home to find “J-O-Y” outlined on the driveway. He said he knew instantly what I was doing but wished I might’ve used a cardboard box or something as a backdrop. I wished I had too. I was still optimistic about it eventually washing away, but to my dismay, it’s still there as bold as it was the day I painted it. 

But I have to say that what I once saw as something unsightly, I now see as a daily reminder. Every day when I leave for work, I see JOY, a reminder of what God has done in my life. And every day when I come home from work, I see JOY, a reminder that nothing can wash away my joy.

John records in his Gospel, the words of Christ about loving one another. Jesus states very plainly that if we simply love Him and one another, our joy will be full, overflowing to be exact. It’s interesting to me that Jesus basically says that our joy is dependent upon how we love Him and one another, and He even uses Himself as the example. Just as Christ has love us, and gave His life for us, we are also to love one another. Our love for one another is not dependent upon how others treat us. It’s dependent upon how we treat others, and how we share His love with them. And how we love Jesus...well, we must simply obey Him. How much easier could it be?

In modern times, we may sometimes confuse happiness with joy. Happiness is circumstantial, dependent upon the happenings in our lives. Joy is the knowledge of the abiding presence of God. I don’t know about you, but I choose joy over happiness any day. When hard days come, and it seems like there’s no end in sight, happiness fades, and washes away. Joy is still there. The assurance of knowing that He is with us is a comforting peace that supersedes anything we may be facing.

Do you have joy in your heart? The Scripture says to remain in Him, the true Vine, and He will cause you to bear fruit, His joy.

Encouragement for Today
James 1:2-4 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” NLT

John 16:24 “Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” NLT