John 15: Live Life with Great Joy

A joyless Christian is a contradiction in terms. Joy is not inevitable—but you ought to have joy in Christ.

Joy in Christ will take the weariness, burden, and labor out of serving Him. “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b; see also Psalm 100:2). God never intended for you to be free of pain. (See Job 14:1.) But He also never intended for you to be filled with misery.

Jesus said: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Whose joy? His! Not joy like His; His joy. Nobody ever had greater joy than the Lord Jesus. (See Hebrews 1:8-9.) This is why Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4a).

Joy is supernatural, and therefore it is steadfast. Jesus, who had joy, was yet “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (See Isaiah 53:3.)

What is the difference between joy and happiness?

Happiness depends on what happens. Joy depends upon the Lord. Happiness evaporates in times of suffering. But joy is often deepened in suffering, because then we depend upon the Lord.

It was as Jesus was facing the cross that He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you” (John 15:11a). You are not expected to be happy all the time—but you are to have joy all the time.

“Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16:20).

Christianity is not the subtraction of problems; it is the addition of power to meet them.

Your joy is no better than its source. Suppose you get home and everything has been stolen—our heirlooms, your treasurers, all gone. Would that take away your joy? If so, those things are the source of your joy. You must have something better in order to have steadfast joy. (See Hebrews 10:34.)

If your joy is in Christ, that joy can never be taken away.

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you” (John 15:11a). What has He spoken, then? Look earlier in this same chapter: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The secret to finding joy is abiding in Jesus.

Have you ever thought about how absolutely dependent a branch is on the vine? It is only meant to abide in the vine and bear fruit. You are totally dependent upon Jesus. If you think you are something, then Jesus is not everything.

Rest in Him. (See John 15:9.) A branch does not worry. The vine goes down into the ground and brings up moisture and nourishment. In springtime, it is the vine’s business to send its life into the branch and produce leaves and buds. At harvest, the branch only bears the fruit; the vine produces it. The branch has one thing to do: to abide in the vine.

A branch exists for one purpose. “This one thing I do: I abide in Jesus Christ.” God wants you to have joy in your children, your home, your friends, and your health. But He is saying, “Beyond those things, you need a source of joy that cannot fade away.”