The Stability of Our Joy
A Robber of Joy – Part I

Scripture Reading: John 16:20-24

Key Verse: John 16:22
“… then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.”

When Jesus’s disciples thought about losing Him, it robbed them of their joy.

Jesus had told them that He was going away for a while, but that they would see Him again. They did not understand what Jesus was saying to them, but they soon experienced it. They saw Jesus’s crucifixion and the laying of His body in the sealed tomb. Their lack of faith in the words of Jesus, that He would come back to life, caused the disciples to lose their joy.

The first robber of joy that I want to look at this week is our lack of faith.

There are so many circumstances that can make us feel hopeless in this life. The only way to keep our joy in the Lord is to trust what Jesus taught during His 33 years of ministry. The moment we start doubting what the Bible tells us is when joy starts leaking out of our lives.

We can be a little like the Apostle Peter when it comes to losing faith.

Remember when the disciples were in a terrible storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was not with them when they first started out. Jesus showed up by walking on the water out to the boat. When the disciples saw this, they were terrified.

Peter yelled out “Lord if that is you, tell me to come to you”. Jesus answered: “Yes, come!”. Peter left the boat and started toward Jesus walking on the water. But the storm raged and as Peter’s attention turned to the storm, and he started to sink. Jesus rescued Peter but asked him a penetrating question: “Why do you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:31).

Why do we doubt? Doesn’t Jesus deserve our full trust? We all know He does, but it is not easy to keep our eyes off some of the scary circumstances that can pop up in our lives. If we don’t keep our attention focused on Jesus, we lose our faith, and our joy is not far behind.

Father, help me to see only you during the storms of my life. I ask this in Jesus’s Name, amen.