1 John 1:4-10 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

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People are looking for many things in life. Some are looking for the ideal marriage. Some are looking for the perfect job. Some are looking for financial stability, independence, and abundance.  Some are looking to gain more free time that they may spend on their hobbies and leisure. Regardless of whatever it is that they are looking for in life, there is one common reason they are looking for it: they believe it will bring them joy.

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Having joy is not a bad thing. In fact, we all know that in Philippians God commands us to have joy—to rejoice!

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Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

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In fact, a lack of joy can cause us to be weak, whereas an abundance of joy can cause us to be strong.

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Nehemiah 8:10 …for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

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I know that there are difficulties in life, and there will be occasions where it will be very hard to maintain joy. But if our joy is rooted in our relationship with God and not in our circumstances or station in life, then we can have it even in those instances where it would not be natural to do so.

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In this first epistle of John, he states early on one of the reasons why God had him write.

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I John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

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It is not just that we would have joy, but that we would have a fullness of joy. Although there are persecutions, setbacks, discouragements, and difficulties in life, God does desire that we maintain our joy.

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There are two problems with this command to have joy. One of the first is one we alluded to earlier. Most people look for joy in the wrong place. If we look to a better way of life for joy, then we will not have it. If we look for a bigger bank account to have joy, then we will not have it. If we look to a better job for joy, we will not have it. These types of things were never designed to bring us joy. That joy can only come from God.  

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The fact of the matter is, if we look to things rather than the Lord for our joy, then we will not have fullness of joy. We may have temporary moments of happiness because things are going well, but we will not have that fulfilling and long-lasting joy that comes in spite of any circumstances. That is because it is tied to my relationship with God and not what is going on around me.

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The other problem with our command to be joyful is that it is not guaranteed to be permanent. In fact, in the remaining verses of the first chapter of I John, he gives us a key to one of the greatest joy killers: sin. If the genesis and foundation of biblical joy is my relationship with God, then sin, which comes between me and my God, will kill the flow of joy in my life as well as my closeness to the Lord.

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How sad it is that so many will look to the things of this world, many of which are sinful, to find joy. How impossible it is to find joy in the very things which will kill your joy. Yes, we all have to deal with sin in our life. That is where confession of sin comes from. Daily confessing those sins, which trip us up, will clear the path in our relationship with God and keep the joy coming.

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If we want to keep our joy, or increase it in our lives then we must be on guard against sin. And in those instances when we do sin, we need to quickly go before our Lord and confess it, make any changes that are necessary, so that we can maintain our relationship with God and keep our joy.