Topic: Joy

Editor’s Note: I attended the Together For the Gospel conference this year in Louisville, Kentucky. I praise God for the men he has raised up to disciple his church all over the world and for their instruction this week, particularly on the topic of holiness. In this article, I am […]

My daughter is almost five (going on 15), and one morning, in between bites of sugary cereal, she sang with one hand in the air and the other cradling her spoon. I asked her what she was doing. “I’m praising God, Mama.” Then, in a huff of overly dramatized exhaustion, […]

Why You Desperately Need the Holy Spirit (Jordan Standridge, The Cripplegate) So many of us, even those of us who go to “solid churches” where the Word is preached and our pastor faithfully seeks to craft sermons that will be an encouragement to our soul, desperately need to be asking the […]

Enneagram: The Road Back to You, Or to Somewhere Else? (Kevin DeYoung, The Gospel Coalition) The spirituality of the Enneagram in The Road Back to You bears little resemblance to biblical spirituality. In the book we meet a man named David who is described as having a “meet Jesus” crisis that […]

From the pits of grief and suffering, the human heart and soul can yearn to know the cause of earthly pain. Did a particular sin bring this suffering upon me, or did I need discipline? Tender answers might pour into the soul from Scripture—Job was a noble man who suffered […]

I once had a sweet picture of my grandchildren dressed in costumes as my screen saver. Sitting side by side, 18-month-old Riley was dressed as a tennis ball, tiny baby Hannah was a flower, and two-year-old Benjamin was Spiderman! It’s a sweet picture, but at the same time it troubled […]

Do You Pray Like the Devil? (John Piper, Desiring God) What Paul means is that without the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, no one can say “Jesus is Lord” with a joyful and glad embrace of the Lord Jesus as one’s supreme treasure. The devil admits his power and final victory, […]

How to Find Joy in Your Work (Jon Bloom, Desiring God) This is why we often resent or even hate work: our sin and the curse make it so hard. So we avoid work, or we turn it into a pragmatic, mercenary enterprise to buy something or to give us […]

There have been a few memorable moments of my life which I’ll call “Wow” moments. I remember the summer before my Junior year of high school working at a camp in northern Minnesota. One clear night I was walking to my cabin and was struck by the millions of shining […]

A Beautiful Table and a Bitter Heart (Melissa Kruger, The Gospel Coalition) As we quiet our hearts before the Lord, offering up the sacrifice of praise for his goodness in our lives, we prepare our hearts to experience the joy of giving thanks. Counting our blessings instead of counting our […]

A friend is the victim of slander at work, and she’s finding it hard to forgive. A young mom is facing the sixth month of her husband’s unemployment, and she’s scared for the future. A mentor just told you the diagnosis is cancer, and he’s angry at God. Are you […]

Have you ever wondered why God desires for his people to sing? What role should singing play in the life of a Christian? What is it about worshiping through song that is so important to God? You may not know it, but God has already answered these questions in the […]

I recently spoke with a man who was the chairman of our church 15 years ago. For two years, he was the man to whom I was accountable. At the time, he had his own business and with it, a wide sphere of influence. Today, his world is smaller. His […]

It’s in the tightening of your chest, the bile in your throat, and the knot in your stomach. It flashes in lightning fast, infecting whatever happiness or hope you feel. Every child knows it. Every adult knows it. It’s that fierce, familiar green monster – Jealousy. We envy someone else: […]

Happiness is fickle, and requires happy circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, sticks around. It doesn’t get chased off by trouble. The author of Lamentations describes how happiness disappears when turmoil enters the scene: My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. (Lamentations 3:17) But the […]

Oh Lord, you are my shepherd and I should not be in want, but so often I struggle to be content and do want; forgetting that you have graciously provided me with every spiritual blessing in Christ and everything I need for life and godliness. Thank you for often not […]

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty or hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who […]

“Oh Lord, for years I have prayed for answers, healing, and understanding in this suffering you have allowed. Yet they have seemed not to come. Many have prayed to you on our behalf, as we have sought wisdom from the doctors you provided, and have longed for redemption of what’s […]

For many, Mother’s Day feels more like a day of mourning than a day of celebration. It stands as a reminder of what many have lost. Perhaps it’s a woman who lost her child through miscarriage, stillbirth, illness, or tragedy. Maybe it’s a woman who recently lost her mother. Perhaps […]

Play is something that we do for the sheer love of the activity. Playing a game, going dancing, enjoying a dinner party with friends, and going hiking can all be wonderful, playful pursuits. What does God think about our playfulness? Is God playful? As I was preparing to speak about play at […]

The Christmas season is often one of joy. But for some of us, it is one of hardship and sorrows. Perhaps you’ve lost a family member recently. Or perhaps you’ve been diagnosed with a disease you never saw coming. Maybe you’re struggling with the same sin over and over again. […]

I have always loved the Christmas season: the sense of anticipation, time with family, hunting for the perfect gift for someone I love, cookie baking, decorating, and all the other rich family traditions that surround it. However, it isn’t that way for everyone. As every adult knows, we begin to […]

We’ve all seen them: the familiar bumper stickers that say, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Have you ever stopped to ponder how ironic it is that, during the very season of Christmas, the obvious message of Christ seems to be rapidly squeezed out of our society by mainstream media and other […]

Would you be more likely to say “God is changing me” or “God has changed me”? Recently, Pastor Colin wrote a new article for The Gospel Coalition, one that can be used as fuel for your Thanksgiving in celebrating the joy-filled holiday. Take some time in solitude this week, meditating […]

I’ve never met a single person who wants to live a bad life. That’s because everyone wants to live the good life. We all long to be blessed. The problem is, people in our world have very different perceptions of what exactly the good life is. Is the good life […]

I love playing the hero. And when I say “love,” what I mean is that I simply cannot resist the tendency to do so. To appear weak before other people, to admit that I cannot perform certain functions or that I’m at a loss, often seems like the worst kind […]

Imagine you are very highly respected in your field. People often come to you for insights and leadership and have for a very long time. You believe you are honoring God and truly helping people know and follow Him. Then one day, a new guy shows up on the scene […]

This last weekend has refreshed a spirit of thanksgiving in me. It began with a funeral on Friday morning for Grace Wolgemuth who was translated peacefully into the presence of Christ at the age of 93, leaving a godly legacy to her six children, 20 grandchildren and, to date, 27 […]