Solid Joys
September 15
The Only Enduring Happiness
You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
John 16:22
“No one will take your joy from you” because your joy comes from being with Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus means that you will never die; you will never be cut off from him.
So two things have to be true if your joy is never to be taken from you. One is that the source of your joy lasts forever and the other is that you last forever. If either you or the source of your joy is mortal, your joy will be taken from you.
And oh, how many people have settled for just that! Eat, drink, and be merry they say, for tomorrow we die, and that’s that (Luke 12:19). Food doesn’t last forever, and I don’t last forever. So let’s make the most of it while we can. What a tragedy!
If you are tempted to think that way, please consider as seriously as you possibly can that if your joy comes from being with Jesus, “No one will take your joy from you” — not in this life, nor in the life to come.
Not life or death, or angels or principalities, or things present or things to come, or powers or height or depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to take our joy from us in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38–39).
Joy in being with Jesus is an unbroken line from now to eternity. It will not be cut off — not by his death or ours.
Excerpt from
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The Soul’s Final Feast
September 16•Psalms 27:4
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God Will Supply All Your Needs
September 14•Philippians 4:19
About Solid Joys
Solid Joys is a daily devotional written and read by John Piper. These short and substantive readings will feed your joy in Jesus every day of the year.