In John 15:9-11, Jesus said ” As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” His point was that to TRULY experience the Joy that ONLY He can offer, we have to abide in Him. To abide in Him means that we stick as close to Him as possible. Notice He added “…IF you keep my commandments, you WILL abide in my love…” Obedience to God and His Word is THE ONLY way to find True Joy!
In the Old Testament, after David committed adultery and murder, and then repented of his sins, He cried out to God in prayer, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12) One translation puts it this way – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” David hadn’t lost his salvation by his wicked disobedience, but he HAD lost his JOY….because he had allowed his flesh and wordly desires to draw him AWAY from abiding in Jesus Christ. So, AFTER confessing and repenting of his sin – he now asked “Give me back the JOY I once had when I was CLOSE to Jesus…”
Obedience to God’s Word is CRITICAL if you really want to experience the Christian life. So many people who claim to be Christians seem to be miserable a lot of the time – and that’s because they’ve not learned to OBEY and ABIDE! It’s NOT OPTIONAL! Is it difficult? Yes, at times it is…..but we CAN learn to abide in Him when we learn to DEPEND ENTIRELY upon Him for the strength to do so! You want REAL JOY? The answer is SIMPLE: ABIDE IN HIM!