What is the Secret to Joy?
Isn’t that the question we all ask? What can I do to have more joy in my life? Let me be perfectly frank here. Joy is simple.
If It’s Simple, Why Do We All Struggle to Have It?
I promise, I will tell you the secret to joy. But first, we need to see what keeps us from it. You and I, we don’t have joy in our lives, or we have less joy than we’d like for one reason. Here it is:
We prioritize the wrong things.
We prioritize work, or family, or exercise, or sleep, or social media, or friends, or one of a number of other things over the one thing that would bring us the greatest joy. Recently we shared the post, Should I Hate My Spouse and Parents? Spoiler, the answer is no. But the reasoning goes back to Jesus appearing to tell us that we should. That post is also one about priority.
Let me say it this way, most of the self-inflicted suffering in our lives is a result of improper prioritization. We must get this in our minds first before we find out the secret to joy. Perhaps the most well-known verse on this point is in Matthew.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
-Matthew 6:33 ESV
And Now You Think You’ve Figured It Out
So, at this point you may be thinking, “Ah, so the secret of joy is in putting God before everything.” You’re not wrong. But that explanation is too broad. How many times have you heard that you should put God first? I’m sure it’s more times than you can remember.
And, of course, this is not a commandment in the verse quoted above, but it is absolutely true wisdom from Jesus. You should also know that “all these things” reference food, drink, and clothes. It’s about physical things in life, not joy.
The Place of Joy
A former pastor of mine often shared his life verse. It’s wonderful and speaks directly of where to find joy.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
-Psalm 16:11 ESV
Based on this Psalm, fullness of joy is found in the presence of God. But that leads us to another question. Where is the place I can best get into the presence of God?
Is it the sanctuary at my local church? Is it by taking a mission trip? Is it in my prayer closet?
Please, please, please tell me how can I best get in His presence so I can have this fullness of joy!
Beloved, I will tell you, but remember that the joy isn’t just found in the place I will tell you, but it also requires giving that place highest priority.
The Answer
Now we come back to the question that started it all. What is the secret to joy? I must confess, I stumbled upon it. I wasn’t looking in that place for joy, I was looking in it because I thought that’s where God was leading me. Let me share with you a quote. It’s not scripture, but it’s true.
"The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts."
- George Muller
You see my friends, the secret to joy in Christ is found by spending long, focused time in His word! And not only that, but also thinking about His word often. George Muller was right. When I gave highest priority to reading and thinking about the Bible in order to grow closer to God and learn more about Him, everything changed.
Yes, my joy became greater. Do you know why? Because reading His word led me to be more focused on Him. It led me to have a view of life that was much less temporal and far more eternal. But it was not just joy that increased. Beloved I saw Galatians 5:22-23 come alive in my life!
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
-Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
The Holy Spirit infused my spirit like never before! Please hear me. You cannot have the relationship you desire with the Lord without significant, focused time in His word. Everything starts there.
Now, you may say to me that you don’t have the time. But remember where we started? The secret to joy isn’t just in knowing the secret, it is in the prioritization of it. If you’d like more guidance on that, check out our post, Where Do I Find Time to Study the Bible?
The Wrap Up
Let’s bring this to a close. You can find joy with the Lord in many things such as prayer, worship, singing, fellowship, serving, and a host of other activities. And I recommend that you do every one of those very often. But it always starts with being in the Word of God.
If you have follow-up thoughts, feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form. Also, if you’d like to learn more about me and why I create all this content about following Jesus, check out my About page. If you love the content and would like to support this work, please visit Troy Stoneking (buymeacoffee.com). Finally, would you like to see a list of ALL our blog posts? Here it is!
Love you Jesus follower!