How to Find Christian Joy: Practical Ways to Grow in Joy Through Christ

Date: 26 April 2026

Preacher: Benedict

Place: Trinity Baptist Church, Charlesworth, near Glossop

Listen Below:

Christian Joy (2)

39:48

How to Find Christian Joy: Practical Ways to Grow in Joy Through Christ

Christian joy is a deep, lasting gladness rooted in God’s saving grace, and it grows as believers commune with God, trust in Christ and walk by the Spirit.

Last week, we considered the foundation of Christian joy.

We saw that it is sourced from the Triune God, orchestrated and sent by the Father, comes to us through abiding in the Son, and that we abide in the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now we turn to something more practical: how to find Christian joy in our lives.

Before we do that, it is helpful to understand what we mean by “joy.” The New Testament word often used is Xara - closely connected to grace. Christian joy, then, is not mere happiness or emotional uplift. It is a joy that flows from the saving grace of God.

That makes it fundamentally different from the world’s idea of happiness. Worldly happiness can be fleeting, unstable, and often dependent on circumstances. It rises and falls quickly. At times, what looks like joy is simply a temporary escape - like intoxication, which produces a lightness of heart without any real foundation.

But Christian joy is different. It is a settled gladness. A calm delight. A joy that is rooted in truth - in the knowledge of God and the reality of salvation. It is the kind of joy Adam and Eve would have known before the fall: pure, grounded, and whole.

So how do we grow in this joy?

1. Christian Joy Through Communion with God

At the heart of Christian joy is communion with God. As believers, we abide in the Son, and through him we have communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is not abstract - it is real fellowship with the living God.

There is joy in daily communion, as we come before him in prayer and through meditating on his word. But there is a particular richness in the worship of the Lord’s Day.

As it states in Psalm 16:11, in God’s presence there is fullness of joy. The gathering of God’s people is not incidental but central to the Christian life.

We were made for communion with God. Though sin has disrupted that, the Spirit restores it. And in that restored communion, joy begins to flow again.

2. Joy in the Lord’s Day

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

The Lord’s Day is not merely a duty - it is a gift.

It is a day set apart for joy in God. A weekly return, as it were, to spiritual clarity and delight. Those who learn to value and enter into it properly will find their joy strengthened and deepened.

3. Joy in Fellowship with God’s People

Christian joy is not meant to be experienced in isolation.

As 1 John 1:3-4 shows, fellowship with one another is bound up with fellowship with God. When believers gather, there is a shared participation in the life of Christ.

There is something uniquely strengthening - and joyful - about being among those who are indwelt by the Spirit and saved by Christ.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Psalm 133:1).

4. Joy in God’s Protection

There is deep joy in knowing that God is for his people.

As we abide in Christ, we come to see that God’s providence is not random, but purposeful and protective. Even trials are governed by his wisdom.

This produces a quiet confidence - a joy rooted not in ease, but in security.

5. Joy in the Salvation of Souls

Scripture teaches that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). And this joy is shared, in measure, by God’s people.

Why? Because salvation displays the glory of God. It expands the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. It rescues souls from eternal judgment.

To see someone brought to Christ is to witness something profoundly joyful.

6. Christian Joy Through Hope in Christ

Another key way to grow in Christian joy is through hope.

As 1 Peter 1:3-9 teaches, believers are given a living hope - an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.

Life may be difficult. Trials are real. But they are not final. The hope of what is to come transforms how we experience the present.

Imagine two men doing the same hard labour. One returns each day to a miserable household; the other to a loving home. The second will endure the work with far greater joy.

So it is with the Christian. Even if this life is hard, we are heading toward something infinitely better. That hope itself produces joy.

7. Joy Through Trusting in Christ

Trust is central to joy.

The more we trust in Christ - his power to save, his care for us, his intercession before the Father - the more settled and peaceful we become.

Anxiety decreases. Confidence grows. Joy follows. To abide in Christ, as he commands us in John 15:1-11, is partly to trust him. And, in turn, to trust him is to enter into his joy.

8. Joy Through Loving Christ

Peter states in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”. There is joy in love.

The more we love Christ, the more we rejoice in him. And love grows as we dwell on him. Think of how love deepens in human relationships - by reflecting on what is admirable, remembering kindness and appreciating character.

So with Christ. Consider his mercy, his patience, his justice, his grace. Recall how he has dealt with you personally. As love grows, so does joy.

9. Joy in Obedience

It may seem surprising, but Scripture teaches that obedience produces joy (John 15:9-11).

The Lord Jesus connects keeping his commands with having his joy. Sin leads to misery. Obedience leads to flourishing.

This does not mean obedience is always easy. But it does mean it is right - and in time, it brings joy. The Devil will suggest otherwise. He will present sin as pleasurable and obedience as restrictive. But the opposite is true.

A Final Illustration

The ways of God are like a pure mountain stream - clear, refreshing, life-giving. The sins of the world are like a cheap booze - attractive for a moment, but ultimately degrading.

Sometimes we are drawn away from the stream. Sometimes we even drink deeply of what harms us. And the result is always the same: emptiness and misery.

The answer is not to return to sin to dull the pain. The answer is to return to the stream.

The commands of the Lord are pure. The ways of Christ are life-giving. In them, there is true joy.

Conclusion: Growing in Christian Joy

The growth of Christian joy is not automatic. It is cultivated.

It grows through communion with God, through hope in Christ, through obedience, love, trust and fellowship.

Above all, it grows as we fix our minds and hearts on the Lord Jesus.

May God grant that, through these means, we would grow in true and lasting Christian joy.

Continue exploring:

• → Christian Joy: How It Comes from God 

• → What Is the Point of the Resurrection? 

• → How Do You Find Jesus?