Joy can feel elusive. It’s something we all want and yet obtaining it seems like striving after the wind. Do you wish you could say with King David, “You have put more joy in my heart, than they have when their grain and wine abound.”¹ Or with the Apostle Paul, to be able to say from jail while attacked, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.”² Where does that deep seated joy come from? There are many things that could be said, however, let us just consider three important keys to having an unshakeable joy.

First, joy is elusive when we look for it in the wrong place. David said that he had more joy than those with grain and wine. If we are completely honest, we will admit that our hearts’ affections are set on things that cannot provide the joy we want.

Think of the man who loves technology. He delights in the latest fancy gizmo. Six months ago, he purchased a brand new phone; he had such great joy as he unboxed it and explored its amazing features. Then, six months later, he hops on the train to go to work and sees an advertisement for the latest phone. He looks down at his phone and is disappointed with how outdated the model is. He looks at the new model and thinks to himself, “If I had that, then I would be happy; then I would have joy!” In a year’s time, the same thing happens: the cycle of elusive joy. We could run out this illustration across any number of spheres, couldn’t we? The mother pinning the joys of hope upon a clean house, the workman trusting in a new job, the car enthusiast coveting the latest Porsche, or the young person believing they would be joyful if they had what their friends had.

What’s the problem? Whether it’s a phone, husband, work, education, hobby, or car; eventually, the joy will run out. Why? Because they are fleeting pleasures. They rise and fall like the sea and leave the heart disappointed and joyless. What’s the solution? That brings us to our second key.

If the first key is that joy is elusive when sought in the wrong places, the second key is that true joy can only be found in the right places. Notice again what David says, “You have put more joy in my heart…” He rightly understood that the joy he has comes from God. This is not a cheap joy that comes from things; it is a joy that transcends this world because it comes from the transcendent.

When you consider the rest of the Psalm, you appreciate the significance of David having this joy. In verse two, he says, “O men, how long shall my honour be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” The Psalm is written while under attack from enemies. The cry of the Psalm is one from a heart in distress. Many of us know this pain. A work colleague slanders us to the boss, our spouse betrays our trust, someone in Church slanders and maligns us, or we suffer horrendous abuse at the hands of another. In this moment, are you able to declare that the Lord has put more joy in your heart than those whose cars and mansions abound?

The third key is recognizing that joy is found in a person. We can make the mistake of thinking of joy like a substance. When we hear David say that God has put joy in his heart, we imagine the Lord injecting joy liquid into the heart of David so that he becomes joyful. That is foolish thinking. The joy David has been given is found in the presence of God.

There is no recipe nor magical incantation that we can recite in order to have joy abounding in our hearts. In fact, it is a lot simpler than that. In another place, David says, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”³ Joy comes when we stop seeking joy for joys sake alone and start seeking God for God’s sake alone. You see, when we delight in God, we find our deepest need for joy met, because he is our joy. This is why David can say that pleasures (not wine and grain) are found at the right hand of God, because at the right hand of God is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you want joy today? Look no other place than the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Psalm 4:7 ↩︎
2. Philippians 1:18 ↩︎
3. Psalm 16:11 ↩︎