Ode to Joy

Posted by Karen on May 6, 2012 | 1 comment

There is a modern mindset that insists on a “less is more” approach to life. I tend to shy away from such an approach. And when it comes to joy, the Scriptures do, too.

There’s only one thing better than joy, and that’s more joy! That is to say, shared joy. “Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!” (1 John 1:4, MSG)

Fullness of joy is always realized in the presence of another, most notably the Lord’s presence:

Psalm 16:11 — “You will fill me with joy in Your presence…”

John 3:29 — John the Baptist compared himself to “the friend who attends the bridegroom,” who “waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine and it is now complete.”

John 15:10-11 — “If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love… I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 17:13 — “I say these things while I am still in the world, so that [My disciples] may have the full measure of My joy within them.”

The welling up, the springing forth, and the spilling over of delight are the hallmarks of joy. The joy of the Lord so overflows us that we “double our joy” as we share the overflow with others!