THE JOY OF THE LORD

By A. E. Waffle

          “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11).

            In the last will and testament of our Lord there are many legacies, but the most remarkable is this legacy of joy. The words seem to be connected with the words which Jesus had spoken to them in this last discourse. It is a wonderful discourse and the central thought is a revelation of a personal God, and a possibility of a union of the believer with this God as the foundation of this joy. We would deduce from this:

            I. God is a joyous Being. The doctrine is plainly revealed in Scripture. He is God blessed forever; blessed means joyful. There is in God the joy of perfect being. Any normal, healthy, perfectly organized being finds in existence itself a source of joy. God has this joy in perfect being. All of His powers work with infinite vigor and infinite harmony, one with another, and so there is in God an infinite joy. (a) There is in God the joy of infinite love, or infinite loving. God is love, and He has many objects in which He delights. And because of His love for His people and His desire to save them it is possible for God to have joy in His children in spite of their natural sinfulness. The joy of redemption, the joy of reaching out to save them, is so great that it leaves no room even in an infinite nature for grief.

            (b) There is in God the joy of infinite power. A man never feels the power for work swelling within him without great joy at the consciousness of possessing this power. When the disciples returned to Jesus and reported that the devils were subject to them at His word they brought the report with joy. Because God has infinite power and knows that He is using this power for holiness, He has infinite joy. He abides in infinite tranquility because He has infinite power.

            II. This joyousness of God is communicated to the believer. The joy of forgiveness, hope, redemption, is not the only joy. There is a direct joy given to the believer from God, as the branch abiding in the vine partakes of the nature of the vine. The divine nature is given to every believer and then the joyousness is given.

            Some of the results: (1) Our nature will be made healthy by a divine healthfulness. It is possible to make a desert in the soul and call it peace, but it is only a shadow of peace; but when Christ comes into the soul He brings all the faculties into healthy harmony and there is joy of peace. (2) There is the joy of working for the salvation of others. (3) The joy of power not our own, power communicated from God. A power not our own has come in the redemption by Christ restoring our shrunken and deformed nature. This joy does not depend upon outward circumstances, but upon how much of divine grace we have in the soul.

            Finally: The joy of the Lord is your strength. (1) In arising superior to adverse circumstances. It does not arise from without but springs up within, and so as it is not dependent upon circumstances it cannot be destroyed by them. Paul and Silas in prison singing songs is an illustration. If we have the joy of the Lord in our hearts we shall not be disturbed in calamity.

            (2) The joy of the Lord is our strength in overcoming the world. If Christ be in us we shall not hunger after the things of the world. If we have the joy of the Lord in our hearts we shall not crave cards, the dance, the theatre, because we shall have something much better. Come out of the kingdom of this world and let the joy of the Lord abide in you, and you will rise above these things.

            (3) The joy of the Lord is our strength for work. It is the joyous heart to whom work is light and easy. Get the joy of the Lord in your heart and it will come out in songs, in testimonies, and in loving efforts for the salvation of others.

            There is a joy in being a Christian that never can come to the worldling. Put Christ up and self down, and the joy of the Lord will abide in your heart and send you forth to do mighty work in His kingdom. (The Pulpit Treasury, Jan. 1888).