Echoes of joy

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

The author of Ecclesiastes was a very very wealthy king. He had many pleasures in this life at his disposal. He was the equivalent of a billionaire in our day. Yet even with all his weath, all his riches, his power, his fame, he was miserable. His eyes roamed from here to there pursuing everything his heart desired, seeking out new pleasures, new joys in this life. Every day for him was filled with a new experience, yet every day he knew something was missing. He knew that even with all his power, all his wealth, all his fame, his possessions, was vanity. The Hebrew word literally translates breath, or vapor. It wa here and gone in a moment, a simple flash of light here one day then gone the next. Wealth is temporary, it will come and it will go, and you will be left wondering why you took so much joy from something so temporary. Power will never last, princes and nations fall daily, with the rising of the sun powers will change, power is ever changing handed from one man to the next. Fame is great for a moment, a chance in the spotlight affords us a great sense of pride and joy, a feeling as if we have done something right. But when that moment, for just a moment it is, is over we are left feeling emptier than before and not just empty, but also feeling as if we did something wrong to make the spotlight fall from is. Possessions make one feel as if they have worth, as if this life and what it has to give to us can grant us everlasting pleasure. But the pursuit of possessions will eventually consume us. 

Joy that comes from this life is shallow, but yet the pursuit thereof will often leave one drowning and still not satisfied. Vanity of vanities ALL is vanity. 

But there is a chance for something more, something deeper than this shallow joy which this life affords. 

John 15:11

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Jesus Christ, the giver of life not only gives us life but a joy that is unspeakable. His own joy which the father gives him he freely pours out from himself to us. From his wounds flow down not only our salvation but also our joy. We strive so hard in this life for glory, honor, power, riches, and possessions, because we think that those things will bring us a profound sense of joy and accomplishment, but no! Jesus Christ is glorious, his glory gives us joy and his glory alone. Jesus Christ is the only one we should be seeking to honor, and he who honors Christ, christ will honor and that is cause for joy my friends. Think about it, the eternal son of God honoring you, the one who is afforded every honor that the father can bestow freely honors those who honor him. Power is Christ's alone, he was given all power over everything the day he rose from the grave, and that power he used not for his own good but for ours, he defeated death and conquered sin not for himself for sin had no dominion over him, but for us, so we could be free, and that is cause for joy. His joy is full, like an ocean, vast and unmeasurable, every current is his presence flowing evermore through us. His joy is never failing, never ending, and never going to let go. 

Hear the echoes of his joy, waiting to fill your life forevermore. Accept it and let his joy fill you completely. 

1 Peter 1:8

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: