Having been redeemed from the power of sin and an eternity in hell, it is amazing to me that many Christians today have a great lack of joy in their lives. If anybody has a reason to be joyful, we do; yet oftentimes we go about downhearted and discouraged. Jesus told us in John 15:11 that it is His desire for our joy to remain, and that it might be full. In other words, He wants us to have a great and everlasting joy. In fact, the word joy was used more than 70 times in the New Testament alone, thus indicating that it ought to be a part of every New Testament saint's life.

But what exactly is joy? In my opinion, joy and happiness are two very different things. Joy is not (or at least shouldn't be) affected by outward circumstances such as financial freedom, luxurious living, or even whether or not we have a home to call our own; rather, it is the result of an inward peace (which we will study tomorrow) that comes from knowing we have been reconciled to God and are no longer in need of redemption. Happiness, on the other hand, might go away when we lose a loved one or a close friend, but joy can be retained even through the darkest nights and most severe storms we will ever face. Joy comes from God, and we can therefore have joy as long as we have God.

Not only are we depriving ourselves of a great treasure when we do not walk in the joy of the Lord, but we are also hindering the advancement of the Gospel. Think about it. Why would a sinner be drawn to Christianity when Christ's followers have no joy? Why would they want anything to do with a religion that, from their perspective, causes such sadness and despair? As you can see, joy is not only necessary for our personal well-being spiritually; it is necessary so that those around us will be drawn to Jesus.

"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;" 

    -Psalm 51:12

When we have lost our joy, we are wasting our time if try to get it back by our own strength. We should turn to God and ask Him to restore it to us, because, as we have already seen, joy comes from knowing God and He is the only one that can give it to us. We must ask Him to restore unto us the joy of His salvation.

Joy is an invaluable treasure, and we must guard it so the devil does not steal is from us as he so often tries to do.