Joy in Christ

The hole of emptiness in my heart is real and must be filled to have satisfaction.

I look into my past and see all the joys and pains I connected with then. When I say connected I mean part of myself was invested in people and events I shared with people then. It was part of a journey. There were times of fulfillment and times of emptiness. This is the way life seems to be many times.

When I look into the future I am tempted to tremble in fear about what will come, but yet I can also find great hope in the unknown. My present is the tip of reality. It is the "quickening" of perception. I long for peace and joy and fulfillment and intimacy.


"Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."

"For my body is real food and my blood real drink."

"Remain in me."

"For I am living water. He who drinks of me will never thirst. For it will be like a well of water overflowing."


Intimacy with my God comes only from one place and that is my heart. The affections of my heart must be for my God and I must worship Him in sincerity and in truth. In spirit and in truth I worship. For it is only by this kind of worship that I can truly be intimate with Him and know Him. This is when the filling of that empty hole in my heart occurs.

In the past I've considered logic and emotion as two halves of my psyche. I've heard it argued that maybe they are really the same or at the very least inseparable. Why would I even care to pursue logic without emotion driving me to care? Many times I've found logic an enemy of my soul. It has not been from founded logical arguments so much, but rather simply from the process of a cold analytical mind systematically dissecting my comprehension and my grounds for the source of joy and life I've found in Christ. C.S. Lewis says the quickest way to kill joy is to begin to analyze it. This is true. Joy cannot be experienced at the same time as the analytical mood of seeking or skepticism prevails. Joy is experienced through faith.

This thing we call emotion is really a manifestation of the state of our hearts. If we were completely and totally emotionless would we be alive? Perhaps it might be possible to exist, but not to live if you know what I mean. For life, true fulfilled life requires feeling. Even furthermore, it requires a sort of joy. For a life with no joy leads to destruction. Many times people who don't have joy or know where it is or if it will come, simply hold on and wait. I know I have found myself holding on and waiting before. Yet joy is right here in my very heart in the living water of Jesus Christ. Oh how I long to truly understand and know Him and be filled with the joy that is in Him. How I long to embody that joy and shine as a light on a hill. I want to share that light with those I love and humanity in general. For this is His desire for me too.

Our enemy strives to cut us off from this intoxicating joy that we have in Him. For if he succeeds in cutting us off or maybe only in suspending us from it for a time he renders us ineffective and devastated whether we comprehend it or not. When in this
state our hearts can only hold out for so long and eventually they will go in search of fulfillment. This fulfillment may not be sought in Christ and if it isn't then we will have latched on to sweet and tasty poison that kills slowly and satisfies only enough to make us come back to it for more. This is a picture of typical addiction. Ironically Jesus fills us completely and totally with true life and joy like nothing else, yet we cannot seem to find ourselves addicted to His love. But when we do experience Him through praise and worship and our eyes are opened, we realize what fools we were and are whenever we leave his presence.

"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." --C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

I find it interesting to note when Jesus taught us to pray. In the Lord's Prayer it begins with praise and ends with praise. I believe everything we do should begin with praise and end with praise. Praise and worship bonds us to Him through faith and releases this joy I've been talking about... almost like a chemical reaction. It is almost a recipe for joy: worship of Christ in spirit and truth through faith. When we worship from our hearts, God visits our hearts. Now express this love in love to others. Show others love and joy from the joy and love He fills you with and you will practically burst into overflowing. When the well feels dry don't look elsewhere. Always discipline yourself to keep your gaze afixed on Him.

Be joyful always. Pray continually. 1 Thes. 5:17