Living in the Vine 15   

Unfathomable Joy

John 15:11; Nehemiah 8:10; Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8.

I have a good friend who for many years has always finished her correspondence to me with the word ‘REJOICE!’ 

From the Latin ‘gaudere’, rejoice means ‘to be glad’ or ‘to possess something’. Jesus tells us that a real and lasting fruit of our life in Him is that we possess the potential to abide in, and live out of, an inner reservoir of what I would describe as unfathomable joy – deep, profound and immeasurable.  As we often don’t actually believe immeasurable joy to be possible, we think of the cost of drawing closer to God as negative, with self-denial, ‘laying down’ of something of ourselves, even sadness. This is a lie of the enemy designed to keep us at a distance from God, because, conversely, to those who have learned to fully yield themselves to the Vine, the true fruit of joy in the Lord is our profound deep blessing. 

The reason I like to use the word ‘unfathomable’ to describe this deep joy that Jesus offers us is because of its other meaning – incomprehensible. For to experience this joy is even possible in the midst of very real difficulties, something that would be inexplicable to anyone who does not know the Lord.

On the evening of the 18th September 2023, my husband and I went to bed in our motorhome which was parked in a quiet layby in a back lane in Cumbria. When I woke up the next morning it was to find that he had died during the night. Instead of screaming or crying from shock, into my spirit came the words: “This is the day that the Lord has made, therefore I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24). So, in the limited time I had with him before the ambulance and police arrived, and he was taken away, I gave time to enjoying being with him and to actively choosing to go back over our many years together and praise and thank the Lord. It was living out of this inner reservoir of deep joy that got me through the remaining engagements in the speaking tour I was part-way through and enabled me to also speak at his thanksgiving service. 

It is so true that  the joy of the Lord is our strength, as Nehemiah proclaims. If we will give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Vine, then a fruit of this Spirit-life is a deep, abiding, unspeakable joy that can’t be interrupted or stolen by the difficult challenges of life. It might not be always evident on our face, and obviously we still feel the emotions of these things, but deep inside we are still able to find joy (2 Corinthians 6:10; John 16:22). 

In John 15:11, Jesus says “that My joy may be in you…”  What was His joy? It was that of being reunited with Father God following the resurrection; of seeing humanity redeemed and able to have a living relationship with Him; of His Kingdom being extended powerfully and exponentially through the giving of the Holy Spirit. This joy was for all His people, Jew and Gentile alike, able to become one new man ‘in Him’. He has put this same resurrection joy in us, and this is the difference abiding in Him makes to us, His disciples. We are spiritual people living in a spiritual realm and with real spiritual potential which includes having fullness (literally being ‘replete’) in unfathomable joy.

Additional reading: John 15:11; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 6: 3-10.

Prayer time

Paul writes that “He always leads us in triumph.” Looking at his life, some might query how that is even possible, yet despite him suffering great hardships – greater than most of us can ever imagine – Paul consistently chose to remain ‘abiding’ in Christ and living in the complete fullness of the overflowing joy of the Lord. 

What was true for him, is also true for those of us who are also ‘in Christ’.

• What does the joy of the Lord mean to you? 
• How does this impact your daily life? 
• In what ways can you say you live in its ‘fulness’?

Talk to the Lord about your level of joy. Being conscious of His presence, ask Him to fill you afresh with His immeasurable, unfathomable joy today.

Sarah Winbow

To see previous installments of this devotional, follow this link. 


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