Jammed Packed Joy

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. _{John 15:11}

The Lord wants only good things for those that love Him and follow Him. In John 15 we learn from Jesus that we are clean because of His word (v3), we bear fruit because of Him (v5), and He loves us and wants us to stay in His love (v9). Why did He tell us all this? Joy… pure, full, abundant, overflowing joy.

Hebrew 12:2 says, “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross”.

Think about that for a moment. He endured the cross. He took the keys of death and hell, redeemed us with His own blood, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Eternal joy outweighed the pain. His joy is now complete and He wants us to be full of that very same joy.

Full – containing or holding as much as possible; having no empty space.

I just love that definition. You know when you go to beach and you feel like you’ve brought half of it home with you? It’s in your hair, your shoes, your toes and even a week later you still find some in the bottom of a bag. It’s the same with joy, it fills every nook and cranny, leaving no empty space… and then it keeps on filling!

Do you want that joy? This, bursting at the seams, jammed packed, filled to the brim and overflowing, joy? The key to unlocking it is God’s own Word.