Delight: Devotions for Finding JoySample

If joy begins with putting God first, then what sustains it? Even when we try to make God our top priority and live for His kingdom, sorrow and sin remain active in the world. It’s important for us to know how to persist in finding joy. 

In these verses, Peter was teaching about true faith, describing the very essence of faith in verse 8: Even though we have never seen God with our eyes, we love and believe in Him. Because of the work of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, we can have life now and in eternity. The result of this reality in our lives is, as Peter put it, “inexpressible and glorious joy” (v. 8). 

Simply put: it is impossible to sustain joy in our lives without faith. Joy is nourished by faith. It’s not easy to remain rooted in faith, but as we do, we’ll find our joy increasing. We remain rooted in our faith when we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first.