Real Hope: JOYSample

Glorious Joy

Biblical “joy“ is more than a happy feeling. It’s a lasting emotion that comes from the choice to trust that God will fulfill His promises. It actually flows from gaining an entirely new perspective on life.

When a person is “born again” (John 3:3,7), everything changes. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJV) This “new creation“ plugs the believer into the source of new motives, values, experiences, and emotions. It is both an impartation (a gift) and a learned experience. The apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little.” (Philippians 4:11b,12 CEV)

And so, I pray you would learn to find and draw from the source of your joy, which is a love relationship with Jesus Christ, a growing faith in Him, and a strong desire to be discipled by the knowledge of His Word, the Bible. Paradoxically, when you are in this relationship with Christ, your most pressing problems can become a source of great joy and victory. I don’t pray, therefore, that problems would come, as that happens naturally and often regularly. I do pray, however, that you would find real joy and perfect peace.

Written by JOHN SCOTT