Before he was thrown into prison and beheaded, John the Baptizer spoke into a dispute his disciples were having. They were bothered by the fact that folks were going to Jesus to be baptized instead of them. John told them, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.”[1] He said, “I must decrease and He must increase” [2] He spoke of rejoicing and being full of joy in yielding his life to Jesus.[3]
As we yield our lives to the Lord, this frees us into the joy of caring for and focusing on others. In Philippians, Paul tells us to fight for the interest of others, to stop caring just for ourselves.[4] He says to pattern our lives after Jesus’ life, who emptied Himself and was obedient to the point of death on a cross.[5]
Then he writes, “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. (Philippians 2:17-18 NASB)
Being poured out – rejoicing and joy. We’re starting to see a pattern here.
In Romans 15, Paul challenges us not to live to please ourselves, but to patiently empower others.[6] He calls God a fountain of hope who fills us to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as we trust our lives to Him.[7]
There’s overwhelming evidence that self-promotion, self-glorification, self-serving and self-effort is the antithesis of joy. God is calling us to pour our efforts towards others. This means we must trust ourselves to His care.
Before Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, John gives us a peek into His thoughts. “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about.” (John 13:3-4 NASB)
Peter would deny Him and Judas would betray Him, yet Jesus washed all his disciples’ feet. He needed nothing from men. He trusted in His Father’s complete love. And this same love is available to us.
Jesus tells us, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:10-12 NIV)
Jesus tells us how to remain in the Lord’s love and how to complete our joy. As you might guess, it has to do with loving and caring for others.
If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:10-12 NIV)
Following Jesus’ example of trusting His Father’s complete love and loving others sacrificially fills us to the brim with the Joy of Jesus.
Joy doesn’t come from promoting ourselves. It comes from trusting, from yielding, from decreasing, from loving others because our life belongs to God.
The Kingdom of God flows in opposition to the world. The world says – look out for yourself, seek your happiness and you’ll be satisfied. Jesus says empty yourself and trust your Father with your well-being. Serve others sacrificially and your Joy will be complete.
[1] John 3:27b
[2] John 3:30
[3] John 3:29
[4] Philippians 2:3-4
[5] Philippians 2:5-8
[6] Romans 15:1-2 TPT
[7] Romans 15:13 TPT
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading.
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