Let Jesus Give You Joy

What is it that people want most? What is the basic human need; something that strikes each of us?

Almost everyone will acknowledge that, in his or her deepest recesses – the soul – there is a yearning for more. “The yearning” is deeply felt and understood. The answers to life that are offered by others can confuse and make one desperate. To compound matters, common observation would lead one to conclude that others are just as unfulfilled. This craving for meaning, significance, purpose, security and serenity consumes us.

Centuries ago it consumed a Roman citizen by the name of Aurelius Augustine. Born in present day Algeria, Aurelius Augustine was a brilliant lad. His father was a wealthy man who provided a very comfortable home with all the amenities of life. He was sent away for superior schooling and at a young age, fifteen as I recall, read Cicero’s philosophy. From this time he acquired a love for the subject of philosophy. Despite being gifted intellectually and offered the finest schooling, “the yearning” began to consume Augustine. During his teen years, he turned to lewd behavior. This continued for several years. He fathered a son out of wedlock, whom he raised. Never quitting on his education, he traveled from Africa to Italy in order to learn from the world’s best teachers.

But “the yearning” never went away. Something was wrong. He was continually restless. The comfortable lifestyle, the sexual conquests and the educational attainments could not satisfy his soul. Later however, in Milan, Italy he was to find the answer to “the yearning.” He wrote about it later, in a book called The Confessions. “The heart of man knows no rest until it finds its rest in Thee, O God.”

What Augustine sought is the same for us all. It is not a feeling. C.S. Lewis described his quest as a seeking for “joy.” He maintained that this joy is not just a general sort of happiness, nor pleasant thoughts, nor a feeling. In the book wherein he describes his spiritual journey, Surprised by Joy, Lewis calls this joy “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” He refers again, in his work The Pilgrim’s Regress, to the soul’s “Desire.” He came to conclude, “And if nature makes nothing in vain, the One who can sit in this chair (Desire) must exist.” The “Desire” is what Lewis called it. It is what Augustine called “no rest.” It is what I call “the yearning.”

And it is the experience of us all.

They found the answer. Joy replaces Desire; peace replaces restlessness when the One who exists is admitted into life. Jesus said, “My joy may be yours, and it enables you to enjoy life to the fullest” (John 15:11, loosely paraphrased).

Let Jesus give you Joy.