Dec 11, 2014
Is This Why You Don’t Have Joy in the Lord?
Joy in the Lord
Throughout the Bible we read about the great joy we can have in the Lord –
“…the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy.” (Psalm 5:11)
“… in your presence there is fullness of joy…” (Psalm 16:11)
“Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous…” (Psalm 32:11)
“Then I will go to … God my exceeding joy…” (Psalm 43:4)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy … in believing” (Romans 15:13)
“The fruit of the Spirit is… joy” (Galatians 5:22)
“Rejoice in the Lord always…” (Philippians 4:4)
But what exactly is this joy?
Pleasure and Satisfaction in Christ
Many passages show that this joy is an emotional feeling of pleasure and satisfaction (Psalm 4:7, for example).
But this joy is not pleasure and satisfaction in our circumstances; it’s pleasure and satisfaction in God as he is revealed in Jesus Christ (Habakkuk 3:17-18 and 1 Peter 1:8, for example).
So why is it that many Christians don’t experience this joy?
Why so Little Joy?
One answer dawned on me yesterday as I was praying about my lack of joy.
God does promise to give this joy to every believer (Psalm 63:7;Psalm 68:3; Luke 2:10; John 16:20,22; for example).
But he also tells us how he will give it to us – through faith.
Notice how joy and faith are connected in these verses –
- “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” (Psalm 13:5)
- “You make him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD (Psalm 21:6-7)
- “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” (Psalm 33:21)
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13)
- “I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith” (Philippians 1:25)
- “Though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8 New American Standard Version)
So there is a cause-effect relationship between faith and joy. God promises to pour out this joy when we turn to him in faith.
So maybe one reason we don’t experience this joy is because we don’t pursue it by faith.
Getting There by Faith
If someone told you that the way to get to your destination was by bicycle, what would you do?
You would not start walking, or get in the car. You would hop on your bicycle, and start peddling.
So when God tells us that the way to get to joy is by faith, what should we do? We should turn to him in faith.
But so often, when I lack joy, I don’t turn to God in faith.
Instead, I languish in spiritual dullness, or busy myself with activity, or complain to my wife.
But what I should do is turn to God in faith.
But How?
Faith means trusting all that God promises to be to us in Christ Jesus.
So how do I turn to God in faith?
First — I turn to God just as I am, in my dullness and sinfulness, knowing that because of Christ’s death I will be loved and welcomed.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)
Second – I confess all known sin to the Father. I confess whatever I am seeking joy in besides Christ, and ask him to help me turn my heart back to him. I am assured that through Christ I am completely forgiven.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Third — I look to God, trusting him to give me what I need. All that I bring to the table is neediness. But in Christ God promises to give me everything I need.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Fourth — I earnestly ask God to give me joy in him by strengthening my faith, overcoming my sinful blindness, and showing me his glory.
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
Fifth – I notice whatever worries or desires are keeping me from joy in the Lord, and work on slaying those with promises from the word of God — the sword of the Spirit.
… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God … (Ephesians 6:17)
Sixth – I pray over passages describing God’s glory until I experience the Spirit enlightening the eyes of my heart so I once again see and feel the all-satisfying glory of God in Christ.
… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened … (Ephesians 1:17-18)
Try This
As soon as you can, set everything else aside, and take time to turn to God by faith.
As you do, notice how the Holy Spirit strengthens your faith, shows you God’s glory, and gives you joy in beholding Christ.
And notice how that happened — by faith.
It’s by faith that God promises to give us joy in him.
So seek him — by faith.
Questions? Comments?
I’d love to hear them. Leave a reply below — thanks.
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And here are some related posts you might find helpful –
- Is Joy in God Different from Happiness?
- “What If I’ve Never Had Joy in Christ?”
- A Prayer for Those Lacking Joy
- Concord by Sovereign Joy: Augustine’s Conversion
(Picture by Just Ard, found at compfight; cropped.)
Steve, thank you for your posts.. This is a great ministry…
Great to hear from you, Ned! And thanks for the encouragement.
Definitely needed this! OMG thank you for the reminder!
So glad to hear it — thanks for letting me know.
Your blogs are spirit-filled. I think one of the best features is that they model how to approach God and think through that approach. We all need that especially because our culture is so non-thinking.” It would be great for you to somehow compile your blogs in a devotional type format and publish.
Thanks for the encouragement. I am working on writing a book describing how to live by faith in Christ — would appreciate your prayers for wisdom.
In Christ,
Steve Fuller
Thanks for the post, Steve. It is encouraging to continue to get them even though it comes with so many (and much less important) e- mails I receive. 🙂 Please continue them. God Bless you, Jan, and your family as we celebrate HIS birth!
You are so welcome, Mary!
This message couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you.
I look forward to your emails on Saturdays. Thank you for this wonderful reminder. I have been struggling with depression and being Joyless. Thank you!
Excited to see how God will use you and your family in 2015.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you for your encouraging words, Francis. And Merry Christmas to you, too.
May god bless you Mr. Fuller. I have a long way to go on my journey and your posts always help.
i always look forward to receive a teaching from you which is really molding me to a better woman. May God continue to use always. Merry Christmas
Dude…Steve…this was SO good brother. Thank you so much for this post man. This was a grace to me from our Lord as I am in the midst of an intense fight for joy in Christ as our older son has just entered the terrible twos…. :\ Love you man. God bless!
So glad this was helpful to you, Josh. Thanks for letting me know!
I have this terrible lie stuck in my head about The Lord. I can’t believe it and have joy in Him too, and it feels so engrained. I don’t want to believe it, even if my flesh wants to. If I ask Jesus to please fix my heart and make Himself my delight and please save me from my sin, especially the sins of unbelief/desiring to justify myself, is there anything I have to do for him to answer that prayer? If so, can I ask him to do even that in me–to give me faith I need and cause me to trust and desire Him, not my own understanding?
Can you answer something for me? When 1 john 1:9 says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, what does “confess” mean there? Is it enough to just say to God, “you’re so big and I cannot understand you. I’m afraid I’ll suppress the truth and rely on my own wisdom. I am afraid I will be too self righteous and self justifying to look to Jesus. I’m afraid I don’t have the faith described here. Will you please forgive me and cleanse me and give me faith and turn my eyes to Him and help me be a trusting, humble child of yours?”
I’ve been worried lately as I don’t seem to have joy and my wife and I have been discouraged by a great many things. We know Jesus is our Savior and through him we have eternal life in Heaven…but here on Earth, I fear that because God allows bad things that we are not protected from them. While our eternity is safe and secure and I do not fear death because of our hope in Jesus, it leaves me here thinking how life here is not what it could be. I don’t feel or reflect this joy I’m supposed to have. This simple blog will help me to revisit my faith and strengthen it. Thank you for this key that I was missing all along. May God bless you and praise to the Lord above for the wisdom you are sharing. Thank you.
The BIGGEST REASON Christians lose their joy is because they are not accepting the Living Water from the Vine. They can easily be pulled out of the Spirit by not submitting to the righteousness of God and abiding in His Love. This takes relationship! We have got to get our daily bread and living water at His Table. We have to commune with Him and put Him first in everything.
“If you remain in Me, and My Words remain in you, whatever you desire you will ask, and it shall happen to you. In this My Father is glorified, that you should bear much fruit; and you will be disciples to Me. As the Father loved Me, I also loved you; continue in My love. If you keep My commandments you will continue in My love, as I have kept My Father’s commandments and continue in His love. I have spoken these things to you that My joy may abide in you, and your joy may be full.
Joh 15:7-11”
Another reason is that people REASON their faith. They REASON about their problems, they REASON about what is wrong, or reasons for failure…. they allow the enemy to unsettle them, and they do not seek the Lord. One has to have the Lord of the Book teach the Book of the Lord, and when they have SCRIPTURE + POWER, the Sword becomes double-edged (Sword of the Spirit), and this takes relationship with the Spirit of Truth. FAITH + REASON do not mix. One has to go to Him to get rest for their souls. This takes time. This takes work. We are to labour for the meat (bread) that does not perish, and the labour is to BELIEVE with the heart. As soon as people are drawn out the Secret Place and do not commune with the Lord, they get dry and weak, and the inner man is not fed and not made mighty as a result. Then then strong man grows stronger and they fall to sin, to reason, to depression and loss of focus. This leads to the loss of Joy.