Indestructible Joy
Jul 25 2025 - Eric Buresh
“Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”
John 16:22
I am a huge fan of joy! I unashamedly declare that I desire to have the deepest, longest, most fulfilling joy I can possibly attain. I think this desire is shared by all humans. God hard-wired the pursuit of the greatest joy possible directly into the hearts of mankind because He knew He was the only One that could and would fulfill that desire.
The trouble is that we spend much of our time pursuing lesser joys. Joys that don’t last. Joys that can be stolen—a joy of circumstance, of health, of fortune, of reputation—instead of the joy that cannot be touched, the joy that endures and stands unmoved in the storm.
The disciples were moments from the cross. Jesus had told them plainly that He would be taken, beaten, killed. Sorrow was coming—deep, black sorrow. But so was joy, and a joy of a different kind. Not the return of comfort, but the reign of Christ. Not the removal of trouble, but the resurrection of their Lord. And what He promised them, He promises to you.
The world can take your health, your wealth, your friends, your dreams—but it cannot take Christ, and therefore it cannot take your joy, for He is your joy.
For those of you in a storm, I appreciate that these sentiments can lead to a roll of the eyes. I’ve rolled my eyes before as I struggle through some pain or disappointment. Yet, I keep finding my joy renewed. And this, I think, is the “secret:” This indestructible joy is not a joy we manufacture. It is a joy we receive. It is given by grace, rooted in Christ, carried by the Spirit, and poured out from the throne of heaven into the soul that believes God by faith.
Christ promised the Holy Spirit—the Comforter who would come after His departure. The Spirit of truth, the Spirit of peace, the Spirit of power, and the Spirit of joy. He does not merely remind us of Christ’s words—He applies them, pressing them into our soul like a balm on a wound. He stirs joy even in the prison cell. He fans joy in the grieving heart. He anchors assurance in the middle of the storm.
Yes, God Himself has taken up residence in the heart of every believer to guard and grow and produce our joy until that day when our eyes see what our hearts have held by faith.
As the people of God, we are those who live with the indestructible joy that He produces in us—not fake laughter that ignores sorrow, but a deep joy that outlives it.