Joy

Abounding joy is the joy that comes only from the Lord.  Joy in this sense refers to a right relationship with God.  When people delight in the Lord, they will find joy in the founder of joy.  Also, God does not withhold joy from those who seek their joy in Him.

Therefore, when we desire Him to be the source of our joy, He will not let us down but will fill us with joy beyond comprehension.  Part of the issue with understanding biblical joy is the breadth of vocabulary our culture employs to refer to joy: happiness, euphoria, pleasure, etc.  This is dangerous because an improper understanding of joy can allow for people replacing joy with pleasure.

Joy is not and should not be defined as pleasure.  Although, both terms refer to degrees of satisfaction and contentment, these terms are not wholly synonymous.  Pleasure is a feeling, it is a fleeting and contingent response to stimuli that pleases.  Because pleasure is dependent on pleasurable inputs, it is externally-supported, meaning that pleasure is sustained from sources outside of a person.

On the other hand, joy is internally-fueled and supported.  This is not to say that every human being has it within them to have insurmountable joy.  Rather, no human being has the capacity for joy apart from the Lord putting the joy into the person.

Think of a dry well: no matter how much the pump is primed, if the well is empty, no water is going to come out.  We are born with a well within us but it is dry.  Totally scorched, empty, and dry.  Pleasure seeking is simply trying to pour water bottles into the well.  This speaks to the fickle and unfulfilling nature of pleasure seeking.  Instead, when God, the source of joy's water, pours His living water into our wells, we will overflow with His joy (John 4:14, 7:38).

Although it is true that joy can have similar pleasurable sensations associated with it, it is the source of joy that distinguishes it from lesser forms of satisfaction.  To say that joy is not externally influenced begs the all-important question: "how does joy get there?"  Simply, joy comes from God.

In John 15, Jesus plainly states that He is the source of joy and that those who abide in Him will be filled with joy.  When we come to God for our joy, trusting that Jesus is the source of joy, we will be filled with unsurpassed, inimitable joy.  This is the crux of joy: Jesus.  Joy is not and should never be our focus.  Rather, joy is a side effect of delighting in the Lord.  When we find our hope, our love, and our lives in the Lord, we will be made overflowing with joy, His joy.