Fight for Joy: Growth Moment

Jesus in John 15, speaks of the importance of abiding in him. Like a branch in the vine, we are to be so strong in our abiding, that we receive all we need, spiritually, from Jesus, and fruitfulness will be borne in us.

But the way Jesus ends this passage is kind of striking:

John 15:9–11 ESV

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

…that my joy may in you, and that your joy may be full.

The Need to Fight for Joy

There is a correlation between our joy in the Lord and our fruitfulness. As our fruitfulness increases, our joy increases. As our joy increases, our fruitfulness increases. Part of this is obvious. Joy is contagious. When your joy in the Lord is high, people around you will take notice, and you will be much more effective for the Lord.

But there’s a spiritual side to this, too: When we have great joy for the Lord, we become more attuned to the mind and heart of God. We need the mind and heart of God as we go about our jobs here, whether it’s the business or facilities of the church or one of our ministries. In fact, I would go so far to say that our joy in the Lord is one of the maintenance pieces of all of our jobs to be healthy enough to perform the tasks before us.

We need to fight for joy because those around us feed off of our joy.

We need to fight for joy because our relationship in the Lord feeds off of joy.

We need to fight for joy because Satan and the world seek to destroy our joy in the Lord.

Pitfalls in Fighting for Joy

The Hindu and Buddhist religions teach that existence is suffering. The teachings of hinduism and buddhism are to escape the sufferings of this world and achieve moksha or nirvana, which is to escape from suffering.

Jesus is much different. Jesus gives us joy in spite of our suffering. Jesus is not removed from suffering. In fact, He suffered for us. And He did so for our great joy in the Lord.

We must fight for joy in the Lord because Satan seeks to destroy our joy. There is a battle for your joy, believer. Satan wants to do one of two things to your joy.

He either wants to destroy your joy in the Lord by convincing you that the Lord and His plans are not to be trusted…

Or he wants to destroy your joy in the Lord by causing you to delight and take joy in sinful distractions.

So the temptation for us as workers of the church is to consider our work here time spent with the Lord, and that can be true… But are we seeking the Lord not just for what He can do in our jobs, but for loving Him with our whole selves, as fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, etc.?

Are we seeking joy in the Lord? We’re at our most effective when we can confidently say, “Christ is my all in all.”