John 15:11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
True joy, the joy from God, the joy that is beyond anything we can fathom or conjure up ourselves, can only be found in God and through Him. It is always available, always accessible, and always complete. It is not dependent upon circumstances. We can’t “earn” that joy, we simply step into it and experience it. And we do that by knowing Him and abiding in Him (John 15:3-4). We gain this joy by seeking Him out.
But what does it mean when we say “abiding in Him?” Just a few verses prior to today we see John 15:7 that speaks of us abiding in Him and His words abiding in us.” Then we see John 15:9 telling us to abide in His love. We see a lot of abiding in this chapter, but need to define what exactly that means so that we can understand how His joy can be in us and can be made complete.
To abide in Christ means to live in or remain close in relationship with Christ. We can do this in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: connecting with God (listening to His word, praying, communing with Him), repenting, believing in the Word and the Gospel, glorifying Him, and fellowshipping with other believers. The Greek word for abide means to remain, stay, continue to exist, or persist.
When we do all of these things, or even some of these, we experience joy – HIS joy. And better yet, His joy is complete. His joy is perfect and doesn’t lack anything. The Greek word for complete is defined as full or to fill, overflowing. Isn’t that an amazing promise? Our joy will be full, overflowing.
Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and seek Him always. And then we can experience and overflow with HIS joy.
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