So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.- John 16:22

January 14, 2008 Floyd Ray Gage

No one will take away your joy. What a wonderful thought. There seems to be so much in this world that wants to steal our joy from us. I have even heard people say that someone else was stealing their joy. There is so much in this life that brings sorrow and pain. To imagine that we can have joy that will not be taken and cannot be taken away from us is revolutionary.

The joy we have most of the time seems to be but for a fleeting moment, but Jesus promises a joy that will last and cannot be diminished. How can this be? The key is in the earlier part of the verse. Jesus says that when He sees them again, they will rejoice in such a way that their joy will last and cannot be taken.

From this, we can understand that the joy that cannot be taken from us comes from Christ and His presence. It also comes from the realization of all that He has done. The next time Jesus would see the disciples, after their sorrow at His death and burial, was after His Resurrection. After the victory had been won over sin and death, the disciples would see Jesus face to face and this would bring them eternal joy.

This is why the joy cannot be taken away from them or from us. The joy is based in Christ and what He has done for us on the cross. Since it is based on something that cannot be changed, it is a joy that cannot be taken from us. No matter what happens. No matter what others may say. No matter how our life may turn, Jesus still died for us and we are His forever, if we have trusted Him.

Most of the joy we experience in this life is transitory in nature, because it is based on those things that are transitory in nature themselves. We are happy when we are with the ones we love. Something will happen to separate us from them. Either a career change, a change of heart, or death will bring separation and so the joy we felt will turn to sorrow. When the joy is based on things that change, the joy itself can change with the change of the situations or conditions.

Where our relationship with Christ is concerned, our joy is based on the eternal. Our joy is vested in the person of Christ. He will never leave us or forsake us. We have His promise on this. What He has done on the cross, cannot be undone, not even by Satan, himself. Since our joy is therefore based on the eternal things of Christ, that joy can never be taken or can never end.

It is true that we sometimes don’t realize that joy. We can allow other things to override that joy in our hearts. We can even deny that joy in a time of doubt or sorrow, but that does not negate the fact that it is still there. All we must do is tap into it.

The disciples were going to endure some very difficult times and most of them would lose their lives for the faith, but nothing done by the Jews, Rome, or Satan was going to take their joy. Our joy in Christ is the refuge we can go to in the midst of a cruel and unfair world. Our joy in Christ, is our shield against the darts of the accusing serpent, Satan. Our joy is the balm we can use on the wounds we suffer for our faith in Christ.

Our joy is something we need never forget because it is resting in the One Who loves us more than we love ourselves. To help us remember our eternal joy just remember this JOY: Jesus Our Yearning. When we turn our attention and heart to Jesus our joy will return. When we seek Him, the joy will become real again. Never let the world pull you away from this truth. Never let situations block you from this realization. Our joy in Christ is eternal and cannot be taken from us. Rejoice the Lord is ours!