Only way to Lasting Joy

Unlike every other belief system throughout history, Jesus claimed God doesn’t grade on a curve (how “good” we are), but on a standard (holiness), which none of us have met. He stated we have all done things “unholy” (against God’s nature), and such things will be separated from a holy God. Like oil and water, they don’t mix. If true, that’s the bad news.

But a holy God came to personally show us his nature, and then to take the death penalty for us on the cross, so the justice against unholiness is paid and our debt can be cleared. This is the “Gospel,” which translates as the “good news.”

Then, Jesus rose from the grave to verify his authority over death, and his claim he can do the same for us. This sounds like great news, and some immediately wonder if only wishful thinking. It would be wishful thinking to believe any belief system without standout reasons, or if you accept something against the evidence. The Bible and Jesus both claim God is behind each of their purposes, and both provided unequalled predictions, including Jesus’ own sacrifice and rise from death (resurrection), such claims will either expose or validate, as both the claims and the evidential support available are uniquely unmatched.

Therefore, accepting this good news is validated as the most reasonable belief, and living on the hope any contrary belief system will lead where you expect, is wishful thinking.

If there is a God, who loves us enough to sacrifice as Jesus did, and with the sovereignty demonstrated with an unmatched claim and verification, then it would be unreasonable to doubt the culmination of his claims, which was we can put off our wearing-out-life, and put on the eternal life God planned for us, even now.

When one really realizes what this means, they can experience pure, lasting joy, because this joy is not like any of the others! This joy is not dependent on you, your control, or what life brings, but on an authority above it all, in a position to know.

But now the practical application: how does one get this lasting joy?

“The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires,” is Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition of “joy.”

Hopefully, you know what this feels like by experience, however, you may also know through experience joy is ephemeral, and impossible for us to control or make lasting. Even joy we worked long and hard to reach, circumstances can wash over us, carrying us away from such joy and into despair in an instant.

But if there is an authority in the position to ensure well-being when all is said and done, and ensure our hope of fulfilling our needs in the highest level, then joy can actually be permanent. This is how one gets the only lasting joy available in life:

Standing on this foundation will give lasting joy, except for those times when you turn your eyes and brain from God and onto things that would naturally stress you.

This is another reason knowing why you believe what you believe is so serious. The hope, which allows lasting joy regardless of current circumstances, is only as strong as the reasons to believe it are beyond the contrary beliefs. And these reasons to believe have already been demonstrated in all applicable fields of study, and on a level no other belief system has been capable of remotely reaching.  

The apostle Paul, who claimed to have encountered the risen Jesus, endured more suffering and hardship than most of us could imagine, in order to spread Jesus’ message. This is well-established fact by historical scholarship. Read Paul’s letters in the New Testament, historians have studied them, and Paul is recognized as extremely intelligent, genuine, and lived a life impossible to understand – unless the reader has experienced the permanent joy Paul did. Despite his hardships, Paul wrote with unshakable confidence, even from prison: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”[1]

As historian Dr. Gary Habermas puts it, this is not Paul trying to be poetic, this is Paul “talking trash.” He was so certain of the joy and hope found in Christ that even death had no power over him. Paul’s confidence wasn’t based on himself, or circumstances, but on his relationship with Jesus, who had demonstrated authority over it all, life and death.

[1] 1 Corinthians 15:55

The Bible is filled with examples like Paul’s to show us what this lasting joy looks like. Across the ages, people from all walks of life have experienced this joy, and it’s available to each of us today.

Paul may seem like a distant figure, but I’ve seen this joy in my own life. Like many, I chased and had some high points, temporary joys, whether it was the next basketball game, trip, or movie. While I believed in Jesus, I treated God more like an “add-on” rather than the foundation of my life.

When I finally sought a true relationship with God, everything changed. The lasting joy and transformation I experienced weren’t something I created—they were natural byproducts of the relationship with Him.

Of course, I haven’t faced the hardships Paul did, and I still fall into worry at times, or into the slavery of trying to create and keep joy on my own, but the permanent joy is always there now, and rises to the forefront when needed.  

For example, due to some shady behavior of people in a more powerful position than myself, I lost my job, my house, and around the same time lost even my dog. I found myself staying with a friend. Despite the chaos, there was a peace in me surprising people around me, even my friends. During this time, I was staying with a friend, and one day I joked how bad his lawn looked and asked, “How does it feel being the guy whose house is bringing all your neighbors’ property values down?” He responded, “At least I have a house.”

We both burst into laughter, despite everything happening around me. Gasping through his laughing, he attempted to remark how it was just so wrong to say what he did, but he knew it would not hurt me because he observed I was different in the area of joy.

Even with all the waves of stress and uncertainty, I wasn’t overwhelmed. Not because I’m naturally calm, far from it, as someone who struggles with anxiety I should have been tossed around with waves of chaos, fear, disappointment, and hopelessness. Yet, all those waves were smoothed down into simply challenging body-surfing waves. I still got a nose-full of water here and there, but I wasn’t in fear, or even anxious, because I had learned to trust the One who holds the “big picture.”

This doesn’t mean life will be free of challenges. On the contrary, the Bible states there will be strife in life, and gives many examples, including Paul. But knowing that God loves us fully and has authority over everything, beyond all other sources of control, brings the assurance that, when all is said and done, we will never be able to stand before God and say, “You really failed to handle that situation right, I shouldn’t have trusted you.”

We can trust this because the evidence supporting God’s promises far outweighs any reasons to doubt. Losing focus on God can momentarily allow our joy to be shaken, but even then, the foundation itself remains solid.

The reality is: everything we value and have in life is fragile, like being carried in a wet paper bag. Eventually, the bottom will fall out, whether during life or at its end. But if Jesus’ offer of eternal life is true, and it’s backed by evidence no other claim can match, then you can have real security and lasting joy.

Why spend time with God, through prayer, study, reading his Word, etc.? Helps to keep your mind on the “big picture”, seeing the capability and care of the One whose hands we are in, and who enjoys providing comfort and other gifts to those in a position open to God to receive.

With this foundation of peace, security, and confidence in God’s promises, and all the good heading for us in our relationship with God, lasting joy becomes the natural response.