Verse:
“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11)
Devotional:
Complete joy. What a promise this is and grateful I am to get to experience it. I had this verse written down from earlier this year when I just needed joy. I was in a rut and wasn’t “feeling it” the way I often describe it. As I wrote this verse out and put it on notecards I learned that the joy that we have is not my joy but its his. This verse says I told you these things so that “My joy may be in you.” As I held onto that during my joyless days I realized that the joy I was missing wasn’t really missing, I just needed to open my eyes and see that it was there. Maybe your fire has gone out and you can’t get excited for a new year. Maybe you are sad at chapters that are ending and can’t find joy in the new beginnings. I have good news, you don’t have to wait for your joy to come around you get to use Gods. God’s joy is complete. His joy doesn’t run out. Its light can’t be put out. God’s joy can give you excitement for what is to come, it wakes you up in the mornings better than a cup of coffee ever could. God’s joy is a joy that we can partake in when our personal happiness runs out. I am so thankful that I get to use the joy that lasts even when it doesn’t make sense. Get excited for who God is moving in your life, in the seen or the unseen. Get excited for the new season you’re about to step into. Get excited to feel refreshed in the season that you have a little bit more time in. You get to begin the new year with complete joy and it’s a joy that has the power to last throughout your 2023.
Questions:
Do you have joy in your heart? If you do thank God for it and if you don’t ask God for it.
How can you share your joy with others?
Prayer:
Hey Jesus, thank you for joy. Thank you for the burden free life of getting to experience your joy when mine seems to run out. God help me see the good things that you have put in my life. Remind me of where my joy comes from and thank you that it comes from you.