One of the ways Christians can attract non-believers into examining the gospel is for believers to live and demonstrate a lifestyle of peace and joy at all times. Sadly, many Christians, when going through the trials of life, act just like non-believers manifesting fear and worry, instead of peace and joy. Over and over Scripture tells us to “fear not” and “rejoice always.” So the question before us is how can Christians live a life of continuous joy, so much so, that we attract many to Christianity and Jesus.
I like how Warren Wiersbe shares his secret for living a life full of joy with us: “Do you want life and joy? Here’s the secret: Live on God’s path, live in His presence, and live for His pleasures.”1 As I was reflecting on this advice my mind immediately thought of one of my favorite Bible verses, (Psalm 16:11): “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In the Wiersbe quote and the Scripture verse, both use the same three “p” words: path, presence, and pleasures! Let’s look at each of these three “p” words to see why they, when combined, lead to awesome joy for the Christian – no matter what the circumstances.
Live on God’s path
Every follower of Christ, if they want a life full of abundant joy, needs to travel on the path that God has planned for them. And while each Christian’s path in life will be unique, there are many similarities that we can see.
For example, the path of God consists of spending quiet time alone with our Lord, where we can pray and learn to hear His voice and get direction for each day’s journey. And knowing that this guidance will always be the best advice we can ever get for what lies ahead should bring a peace and joy to our hearts. Another commonality for the Christian is a steady diet of daily Bible reading and meditation. As we read the Scriptures we will be filling our hearts and minds with precious nuggets of delightful wisdom and arming ourselves with powerful weapons to fight the good fight of faith on our path of life. Then there is regular church attendance where we hear the Word of God preached and get to enjoy rich fellowship and make lasting friendships to enjoy and delight in. One last thing is to share the gospel as the Lord opens up opportunities. And just knowing we are faithful to our call to evangelize, when we share the good news, is sure to bring deep joy into our hearts.
Thus, living on God’s path, by practicing these Christian principles, I contend, allows us to live the most joyful adventure of a lifetime!
Live in His presence
The psalmist David tells us: “…In Your presence is fullness of joy…” (Psalm 16:11). So, the question is how do we get in the presence of Jesus and how can we describe what fullness of joy is like? I believe when we meditate on Scripture and spend time in private praise and prayer we enter into the very presence of the Lord.
(Psalm 119:11) tells us: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” And when we are living in this state, God is well pleased with us. And in (Psalm 50:23) we read: “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” And when we truly spend time just praising Jesus we, again, greatly please Him because our actions glorify His name. And what can draw us closer to the Lord than bringing Him glory. Thus, meditating on the Word, praising our God, and private prayer, I believe allows us to enter into the deep presence of the Lord where we will find fullness of joy.
And when it comes to fullness of joy, I like to describe it as follows: It’s that calm state of absolute assurance that our thoughts and actions are pleasing our Lord so much so that we put a great smile on the face of Jesus and He fills our souls to the brim with peace, bliss, and deep meaning!
Live for His pleasures
In (Psalm 37:4) we read one of the most wonderful verses in all of Scripture: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” When we delight in the Lord we are living for His pleasures and when we do this God reciprocates by giving us the desires (pleasures) of our heart. Thus, what we are doing is delighting in each other – we in Jesus, and Jesus in us – which in my humble opinion creates an amazing joy fest within the Trinity and within our hearts!
So, my friend if you really want joy, live on God’s path, live in His presence, and live for His pleasures. I guarantee you that your cup will run over with pure manna from heaven, in the form of joy unspeakable and full of glory!