John 15:11 I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.
Obviously Jesus cares about our happiness and we can see that from His teaching here. Jesus is teaching us how to have joy, gladness in full measure, complete and overflowing! That is a lot of joy and if you have ever experienced it you will agree, the joy we get from Him is complete, overflowing and even un-explainable.
If you have ever experienced Jesus’ joy in you, you may have had others asking why you are so happy, even in the midst of all your problems. It isn’t like your problems are solved, your healing still didn’t manifest, your house still isn’t paid off, actually nothing at all, is perfect in your life. Why then are you so happy, so happy you are singing and dancing like you haven‘t a care in the world?
On another day you may wonder why you‘re so down, in fact frustrated and crabby. Those days may even be more profuse than your happy ones. You’re down and you can’t seem to snap out of it. Nothing seems right in your life, it’s all you can think about and the more you think about it, the worse you feel!
The secret to both is in what Jesus said; if we do what He tells us to do, we will have His joy complete and even overflowing!
“If we have loved“, is the root Word of our doing. In all of John 15, Jesus teaches about love. In the Word of God the main objective is love. If we love, if we lay down our life for another, we will have complete joy. If we don’t, we can’t expect His joy, His complete joy to be inside of us, to the full and overflowing.
The other day I was thinking thoughts about someone that were making me feel down. I knew they weren’t my thoughts, that the enemy was trying to get me down, but I didn’t do anything about it like I usually do—change my thoughts to love thoughts.
One bad thought led to another until I had no joy and no energy to be my usual happy self. I don’t usually let this happen, but a lot had been going on and I just sunk into my chair and pondered the thoughts the enemy was feeding me until I got crabby. Not good, once you get to that place it is a little harder to get out. God as good as He is got me out when I called out to Him.
God is amazing and set me free from myself as He showed me those selfish thoughts that I was pondering stole all my joy and that I had no business putting myself, my needs above those of others. He said if I was going to be His representative and a happy one, I have to be selfless.
It felt good to be corrected, to be happy, and to get back to being His friend.
John 15:14 You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. 15 I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer; for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.]
When we care about what God cares about enough to love even when it doesn’t seem fair, even when we don’t feel like it, we will be rewarded.
God showed me some things about myself that day I hadn’t considered. I had myself on a pedestal thinking things were unfair until God showed me where He brought me from and that He expected that I have the same compassion for others as He had for me. It was a good spanking —one I certainly needed.
Having love and doing the right thing brought my joy right back to where it was before. Nothing changed, my circumstances still the same, but I had a Friend who not only showed me the truth about myself, but promised to take care of my circumstance for me.
Obeying Jesus isn’t limited to what we can see with our own understanding, but what He will show us. Love isn’t only an extension of words but actions, and how we live our lives. Therefore to know all we are called to do, to know the fullness of His Love we have to have conversations with Him. We have to be friends with Him so we can see what He is doing in us and in our lives.
Seek to be His friend let Him tell you the truth about yourself as a friend does and then abide there, don’t move out of Love.