THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL

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

As the saying goes, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. That’s how it was for me when I begin to hear rumors coming from various places about supernatural, spontaneous joy breaking out in church services around the world. At first I put it off as just another charismatic fad, you know those charismaniacs always have some kind of strange thing going on. But this joy persisted, spread to multiple locations and began to effect people that I knew and respected. Is something going on and I am just clueless? That was actually true, like many other people I was against things that I didn’t know a about. Of all things I found myself opposed to people getting happy and worse than that I suddenly realized I was actually against the outpouring of the Spirit. Apparently joy has been around as long as God has been around. He is the fountain of all joy and He is never anything but overflowing with joy. Here is how A. B. Simpson described this supernatural joy.

“There is a joy that springs spontaneously in the heart without any external or even rational cause. It is like an artesian fountain. It rejoices because it cannot help it. It is the glory of God; it is the heart of Christ; it is the joy divine of which He says, These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. And your joy no man can take from you. Those who possess this fountain are not discouraged by surrounding circumstances. Rather, they are often surprised at the deep, sweet gladness that comes without apparent cause-a joy that frequently is strongest when everything in their condition and circumstances would tend to fill them with sorrow and depression. It is the nightingale in the heart that sings at night because it is its nature to sing. It is the glorified and incorruptible joy that belongs with heaven and anticipates already the everlasting song.”

I love this, joy rejoices because it cannot help it. I reluctantly drug myself to one of the locations that had been inundated with God’s joy. It was either worse than I thought or this is what my heart was longing for. After several days as a spectator I found myself jumping in. That was over thirty years ago and the joy never goes away. Jesus told us that He would send the Holy Spirit so that our joy would be overflowing, its okay, be filled with the joy of the Lord.