Entering Into Joy
“With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation.’ – Isaiah 12:3
Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. – Matthew 25:21
C. S. Lewis recognized the importance of making the joy choice, even when doubts arose:
Moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing [Christianity] looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable… That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist.
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.— Psalm 126:3
Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.— Psalm 119:111
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in Heaven. — Luke 6:22-23
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.— Psalm 16:11
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.— Psalm 19:8
We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. — Psalm 33:20–21
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation. — Isaiah 61:10
In the final analysis, joy is a regular experience no Christian can afford to miss. It requires certain disciplines, but they are well worth it. Growing in Christ takes us from one experience of finding our joy in God to another. Paul referred to it as moving “from glory to glory” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Growing as a Christian might best be described as working on our joy and the joy of those around us. One day, our final destination will be not only entering into heaven but entering into joy itself!