The Risen Christ Brings Joy

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Well, the risen Christ brings peace and He also brings joy. John 20:20: “After He'd given them peace, Jesus showed them His hands and side.” And John says “the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

Real Joy Encounter

Now, do you find sometimes when you read the Bible, it seems very dry? I mean, here's a sentence that's so dry where you can miss it completely: "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord." Full stop. Not even an exclamation mark.

But picture it! It wasn't just a little smile they all cracked. I don't think there were handshakes and polite nods. I think there were tears! There were hugs! Chairs were toppled as they ran to embrace Him! There was singing, there was shouting, there was joy filling that place! And again, Jesus brings this whole thing full circle here, because when He was born, the angel told the shepherds that He brought good news of great joy. Remember? So the joy of the disciples brings joy back after their dark few days.

Do your meetings with Jesus have an element of joy in them? When you sit with Jesus, when you read about Him, when you pray to Him, do you do it with a great sense of joy, or is it dry? Is it more of a polite conversation than an overflow of joy?

Joy in Scripture

Jesus spoke about joy a lot. John 15:10 He said "I’ve told you this so that My joy may be in you, that your joy may be complete." John 16:20 He said to them "You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." That’s what was happening in the upper room. John 16:22 — "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

Now again, think about all the difficulties they went through after they’d met Him in the upper room. Yet He said nothing will take away your joy. No one will take away your joy. Friends, I hope that because of your love for Christ, nothing has taken away your joy.

Pursuing Deeper Joy

C.S. Lewis famously said this: "It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea."

Do you agree with what he said? He was saying we seek joy in the wrong places, making mud pies and not knowing the joy of a great holiday at the sea. In other words: we go to the wrong places to find our joy, but it's in His presence that we should find our deepest joy.

As Jesus steps into your heart today, don’t just see Him as someone who can do something for you. That is not faith. See Him as your greatest treasure, your deepest love, your most treasured relationship.

Be overjoyed! And if you don’t feel that, oh friends, pray. Pray, pray, pray every day that God would give you His joy. Seek it. Seek Him—and that joy will come.