“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your job may be complete.” — John 15:11
As we prioritize living a Godly life (producing fruit) by aligning our words, thoughts, and actions with Jesus (remaining in Christ), God promises something in return: joy. And not just a small sample of it. We learn in John 15:11 that Jesus promises to complete our joy!
Joy is a good feeling in the soul that’s not dependent on circumstances but grounded in the goodness of God. Because it's not circumstantial, joy is attainable even when things in sport go sideways.
WARM-UP
Describe the last time you felt joy during competition or practice.
Define joy.
WORKOUT
The God of Joy
Jesus promises to complete our joy. This would not have been a new idea to early Christians familiar with God’s word. In Psalm 16:1, David said: “You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.”
The path of life, laid out by God, is paved with joy. How? Because God blesses us with His presence along the way. In John 15, Jesus is helping the disciples make a similar connection. When we stay connected to Him and follow His lead, He blesses us with fullness of joy through His presence.
God is not after your begrudging submission. He doesn’t want you to simply follow Him because you have to or because you hope He will reward you with some athletic blessing. He is after your joy because He created you and He knows how to give it to you abundantly and completely.
Q: How often do you experience joy in your life? In competition?
Q: Reflecting on the definition of joy, how do you think remaining in Jesus can complete your joy?
Christ > Championships
It’s easy to think that the next win, personal best or championship will bring us joy and happiness. And honestly, in the short run, it probably will. But there will always be a ceiling on the amount of happiness earthly things can bring us. More often than not, we will be disappointed at how low that ceiling is. Why is this the case?
Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, a book committed to showing that true joy cannot be found in the pleasures this earth offers. He says in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has put eternity in our hearts. The implication is simple: we cannot be satisfied by earthly things. The Bible does not say whether King Solomon could throw, catch or hit a ball. We do know that he was good-looking, rich and strong. On paper, he had it all. And yet he repeatedly writes throughout Ecclesiastes that everything is meaningless. He tried finding lasting joy in everything this world had to offer and found that it was like chasing after a dangling carrot. Always close, never complete.
It’s not bad to want to win. There should be an appropriate desire in the heart of every athlete to pursue it. Giving our best brings honor to God as the One who gave us these athletic gifts (Colossians 3:23). But there is a good reason athletic success won’t satisfy us at a soul level. It was never supposed to. We were created for more. We were created for eternity. When we remain in Jesus, the eternal King, He promises to complete our joy.
The good news is that when we remain in Jesus while we compete, we align ourselves with the way God intended His good gifts, like sports, to work. And in the end, we also get the maximum amount of joy out of our sport—not because He rewards us with wins and championships, but because He blesses us with His presence.
Q: How does it make you feel when you hear that Jesus wants to offer you complete joy?
Q: Is it hard for you to believe that you can have joy even if sports are not going the way you want? Explain.
WRAP-UP We’re proven by trusting that Jesus is a greater source of joy than sport.
Jesus wants to give us abundant joy.
Jesus knows that this joy comes from remaining in His presence.
Success in sports is great, but it will never fully satisfy the longing in our hearts.
Key Action: Create a list of moments in life and in competition where your joy was complete. Spend time thanking God for those moments and the joy He gave you.