“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

John 15:11

Joy should be sought after and found in the presence of God, in the company of God’s people, and in the exercise of worship. If joy is not the essential experience when God’s people gather, there is something missing. Joy is the universal experience of people in the presence of God, from those who have been redeemed, and from those who understand the Gospel of peace.

Joylessness is a diagnosis, not something to be allowed or admitted into the celebration of grace, the declaration of our freedom in Christ, or the grasping of hope that never fails. Joylessness is utterly incompatible with the true and saving Gospel. There is no excuse for joylessness. There should be no room permitted for it, no songless worship, no gathering of people who somberly recite, retell, and then forget the wonders of grace, the depth of forgiveness, and the breadth of mercy that God has lavished, LAVISHED on his people.

Joy comes from Christ. It is his gift to us. If there is no joy, then we have not worshiped completely. If there is no joy, we have exchanged the sorrow of sin for the joy of salvation. If there is no joy, then reconciliation has not completed its work, turning aliens and strangers into sons and daughters of God. If there is no joy, then singing has been replaced with self-obsession. If there is no joy, Christ has neither been seen nor has he been heard. For when the glorious Savior speaks, he speaks joy to his people. When the glorious Savior appears, he gives joy to everyone. When the glorious Savior teaches, he teaches us to rejoice, and again I say, rejoice.