Joy That Remains

Would you like to experience a satisfying, fulfilling, deeply penetrating joy that will last? If so, I invite you to lean in close and linger a little longer, holding fast to the joy-infusing, life-giving words of Jesus. Cling to Him as if your life depended upon it because it does! Apart from Him, you can do nothing (John 15:5b).Jesus tells us in John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” His ultimate desire in our lives is that we produce fruit. Not just any old fruit, but everlasting fruit. Fruit in abundance, much fruit, more fruit! However, we can’t produce it on our own. The key is to remain in Him, remain in His Word, and remain in His love. So the key to our fruitfulness is this concept of remaining, that the word “remain” is used eleven times in the first eleven verses for added emphasis. With that said, here are three ways to remain so that His joy may be in us and we will make His joy complete.

REMAIN IN HIM 

John 15:4 says, ^“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” A joy that remains begins with a vital relationship with Jesus. And, like any relationship, there needs to be an investment of time—both quality and quantity. Intentional time. Meaningful time. Time in solitude. Time in quiet. Time in conversation. Time getting to know one another. Extended time. Unhurried time. Time to simply be in His presence (Ps. 46:10). 

The tendency we have in this hurried world, unfortunately, is to hurry through our time with the Lord rather than linger in His presence. Oftentimes, we rush to get on with our life when in fact, He is our life! Deuteronomy 30:20 says, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.”

When we remain in Him, we draw nutrients that will sustain us, strengthen us, and build into us for His purposes in ways that will bring us joy. This doesn’t come quickly, but rather over time. Therefore, we need to spend time basking in His presence. Not out of a sense of duty or obligation. Obligation, after all, is opportunity with the joy taken out. Instead, we must treat it just as we would any meaningful, close relationship. Invest in it. Make it a priority just as Mary did in Luke 11. There we find her sitting at Jesus’ feet taking it all in—absorbing every ounce of His presence she could while she could. 

In Exodus 24, we find Moses meeting with the Lord on Mt. Sinai. When he came down, he radiated the glory of God because of the time he had spent alone in His presence. I don’t know about you, but I want people to see that I’ve been in the Lord’s presence by the glow on my face! 

It isn’t always easy to set time apart to remain in His presence, but it is well worth the time we spend investing in a viable relationship with Jesus. When we give Him the best of our time, He will make the best of our time. I would encourage you to take time today to wait upon the Lord and bask in His presence. There you will find that in His presence is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11)! 

REMAIN IN HIS WORD 

John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” In Jeremiah 15:16 the prophet says, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.” When was the last time you ate God’s Word in such a way that it was your joy and your heart’s delight? When was the last time you remained in His Word long enough to deliberately taste and see that the Lord is good? When have you taken a morsel of His Word and chewed on it long enough to absorb all of the goodness and nutrients meant to feed your soul? According to Ps. 19:7-8, God’s Word restores our soul, refreshes our spirit, and renews our mind. For, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, “Let the message [Word] of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Col 3:16a). There is such joy to be found as we feast on God’s Word.

REMAIN IN HIS LOVE

John 15:9-10 goes on to say, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. Why is love so vital to abiding in the vine in our relationship with Jesus? Because love is the soil in which our faith grows. This gives us all the more reason why it’s important to remain there—planting ourselves in the soil of God’s unconditional love. Allowing the Lover of our soul the time He desires to speak into our hearts. Ultimately, because God is love (1 John 4:8). 

The well-known passage in 1 Cor. 13:4-13 paints a beautiful picture of what this love looks like. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. … And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Interesting that this list of love’s attributes begins with patience and ends with perseverance. In other words, it’s a love that remains. 

Don’t get me wrong. Our Father’s love comes with pruning, hard work, and discipline as the author of Hebrews describes, “because the Lord disciplines the one he loves … No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:6, 10-11). 

This is where the fruit-bearing comes in. John 15:8 says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Jesus goes on to say in verse 16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what that fruit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. It’s as we bear this fruit that others will be drawn to sit under the shade of the tree and harvest the gift of eternal life.

I’m not sure how exactly God will impact those in your circle of influence to produce lasting fruit, but you can be sure He will as you remain in Him, remain in His Word, and remain in His love! That’s when we will produce fruit—abundant fruit—fruit that will last into eternity. Indeed, you will have a joy that remains! 

PRAYER

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God (Phil 1:9-11). For this reason, since the day I heard about you, I have not stopped praying for you. I continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might (Col. 1:9-12). Let your roots grow down into him, let your lives be built upon him. Then your faith will grow in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness (Col. 2:7). Amen.