“The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.” After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” – Luke 7:18-28
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” – 1 Peter 1:6-9
We all seek a certain level of happiness. We all strive to be happy. We all snap the perfect Instagram to show the world, or at least our followers, that we are so happy.
Happiness, as it is presented in our broken world, tends to be fleeting. Joy however is eternal.
Joy comes from the depths of our being. It is a beautiful gift from God our Father to us. John 15:11 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Joy is someone or something that provides a source of happiness. Joy comes from Jesus. God wants us to have fullness of joy. Joy is our source to true happiness, without joy we will always be striving for happiness. With true joy our happiness will come from the source, Jesus.
In Luke 7, we read the messengers that John the Baptist sent out to ask Jesus if He was the one they had been waiting for or if they should search for another. They set out on a simple mission, to ask one question of Jesus. If you had a simple mission, what would you ask Jesus? Once they had asked their question, Jesus told them to “go and tell John what you have seen…”. The messengers set out again.
We are called to be messengers of God and His joy.
We are to take what Jesus has placed in us and share it with those around us. “Go and tell” about His goodness, His grace, His peace, His love, and His joy. There are times though when joy is hard to shared. 1 Peter 1:6 tells us to rejoice.
Rejoice even in the trials both small and big, in times of hardship, in times of celebration. The word rejoice is a verb, it’s an action word. The Word is telling us to express our joy, to be ecstatic with joy. There are times when we don’t want to rejoice, it’s in these moments that our faith is tested. Tested in the most purest way because our faith is precious to God—more precious than any gold. When this testing happens, James tells us to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Again we see that God wants us to be complete, lacking nothing or in other words full—“that your joy may be full”.
It is through the revelation of Christ Jesus that He is made known to us.
It’s through this revelation that we can love Him even though we have never seen Him and though we have never seen Him we can “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”
In our pursuit of Jesus we encounter many things, but ultimately we encounter a friend and our source of true joy. The source that will never run dry. The source that will always be there for us. The source that will strengthen us. The source that will never changes and only gets sweeter with time. The everlasting source that will place His joy inside your heart and that will make that joy full!
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