An older man listened patiently to his friend for nearly an hour. The friend was telling that long ago he asked Christ to be his Savior, but very honestly, he no longer felt very much joy these days. The old friend said the following that the other man never forgot.

“Charlie” (not his real name), “I’ve been listening to you and thinking about what you told me. You answered my questions honestly and now I want to be very honest with you. The Lord Jesus told us in John 15:11, ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ Now Charlie, we know that the Lord doesn’t have any problems. What He says is true and we can count on it. So if you are not having joy, it is not the fault of the Lord Jesus. The problem is on your end, my friend.
Here’s how I see it, Charlie.
An unopened Bible
An unspoken prayer
An unsung hymn
An unlifted word of praise
An unuttered time of thankfulness
All will add up to a day of unjoyfulness, if there’s such a word, Charlie!”

It was quite a conversation that day. By the way, how is the joy level going for you? There is a big difference between joy and happiness. We’ll think more about that tomorrow.