Joy! Joy! to the World
Joy!
Joy!
Unshakable joy
not quenched by the rain
of sadness.
Joy!
Joy!
Shining through the dark
of night.
Joy!
Joy!
Bursting the fog
of confusion.
Joy!
Joy!
Like bright sun
in the morning.
Joy!
Joy!
Like cool water
in the desert.
Joy!
Joy!
“I bring you good news
of great joy
that will be
for all the people.”
There is no replacement
for the
encouragement
hope
courage
gratitude
love
endurance
that joy brings.
Enduring joy
is a testament
to grace,
a gift from
God,
a constantly renewing
blessing.
Joylessness
is a sad condition
of a fallen world
where people search
for joy
where it will never
be found.
In his final days
on earth,
Jesus expressed
his desire
for his disciples,
“That my joy
may be in you,
and that your joy
may be full.”
True joy is
vertical.
True joy is
internal.
True joy is
stable,
and only ever
a gift of grace.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n, and nature sing.”
“Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.”
Everybody searches for joy somewhere. God has placed this quest in each of our hearts. It is there to drive us to him. It is there because we were made for him. But sadly, in their lifelong quest for joy, most people ignore God. In their God amnesia, they look for joy where it cannot be found, and because they do, they always come up empty.
It’s important to remember that you can search for joy in only two places. Either you have found joy to the fullest vertically, or you are shopping for it horizontally. The physical, created world is full of engaging and entertaining delights, but it is essential to understand that nothing in the physical world can give you the joy that your heart longs for.
The delights of the physical world were carefully crafted to point to the One who alone can give your heart eternal delight. God alone can bring the deepest of joy and contentment to your heart. He alone can give you a reason for getting up in the morning and a purpose for living. He alone can infuse your heart with hope, no matter what is happening around you.
In amazing grace, he welcomes you to surrender all your hopes and dreams to him. In love, he beckons you to follow. Again today, he promises you joy. It’s what he came to live, die, and rise again to give you.
Could it be today that you will fretfully search horizontally for what you have already been given in Christ? Will you try to drink from an empty well when you have already been given thirst-quenching living water?
God bless,
Paul David Tripp
Bible verses quoted are Luke 2:10 and John 15:11
“Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come,” (first and second stanza) by Isaac Watts, 1719.
Reflection Questions
1. As you consider the various aspects of your life (your marriage, job, friendships, hobbies, etc.), would you say that they are characterised by a sense of true and lasting joy? Why or why not? Explain what makes certain parts of your life joyful and other parts not joyful.
2. If God has placed a quest for joy in your heart, you will continually go searching for it. Knowing that you can search for joy in only two places (vertically or horizontally), where are the foolish horizontal places you continue to search for it? Take some time to list them out. Why won’t true joy ever be found in the horizontal places you’re looking? Why aren’t those horizontal places you’re looking at in stable or reliable places?
3. Where can you see the delights of this physical world pointing you to the One who alone can give your heart eternal delight? List a few specifics of how those delights point you to God and then share those specifics with someone close to you (spouse, relative, friend, son or daughter, etc.). Don’t be afraid to talk with that person in depth about how the good gifts of God point you toward a deeper relationship with the Giver of the gifts himself.
4. Why is true joy only a gift of God’s grace? Why is it a gift of grace to surrender all your hopes and dreams to him? Where might God be calling you to surrender all to him, and how do you see a specific correlation between surrender and joy in your life? Why is the joy you’re searching for horizontally something you already have in Christ? What would it practically look like for you to “drink deeply” from the fountain of thirst-quenching living water?