When we consider moments of joy in our lives, we might think of our wedding day, the birth of our children or grandchildren, a long-awaited vacation, a well-deserved promotion or the purchase of a new home or car. There may be countless other reasons that have caused joy in your life. But in every situation, eventually, that joy begins to fade. We may still feel happy, but the initial joy we felt is replaced by a feeling of contentment or satisfaction.

However, when we come to Jesus, and seek to walk with Him daily, God promises that we will be filled with joy â€" not the passing kind, but the eternal kind that is only found in His presence. It took me years to learn what it means to be in the Lord’s presence. I have spent time in prayer and reading God’s Word; I have sung along to worship songs, and not felt much difference. During these times, I had spent time with the Lord in my head, but not in my heart. When we come to the Lord with our whole heart, soul, and mind, we find ourselves in His very presence. The Holy Spirit fills us with His joy, and we experience the pleasures that God has in store for us. When I allow myself to fully submerge in my time with the Lord, whether it be in my own personal quiet time or in Sunday worship, I rarely come out with a dry eye; tears of joy overcome me! The joy I feel being in the Lord’s presence is so powerful that I can’t contain it â€" I have to let it out!  That joy is contagious, too. The disciples spent time with Jesus, intimately, and people knew that they had been with Him. Even their enemies recognized that they were different. What they didn’t understand is that the disciples had been in the very presence of the Lord God!

The Holy Spirit leads us to the path of life, which is Jesus; Jesus then fills us with joy when we spend time in His presence; allowing us to enjoy eternal pleasures in the Kingdom of God. Spend time in Jesus’ presence today, He promises to fill you with joy!

Suggested Prayer:

Dear God, in a time when everyone just wants to be happy, we allow temporal things to satisfy us. But you promise an inexplicable joy that never ends if I only spend time in your presence. Thank you for that promise, grant me the desire to seek you with my whole heart and fill me with your joy, so that it may spread out to others in reflection of your goodness. Joyfully, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Psalm 16:11.