Do you know what it is to have a joy so deep and complete that you have no words to express it? The apostle Peter wrote a letter to some who had "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8).

It was not because everything in their life went smoothly, for it did not; nor were they settled in comfortable homes with profitable employment. No, it was just the opposite: they were thrust through the fires of persecution and driven from their homes and homeland because of their new-found faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Until then, their joys were earthly and transient. But now because of God's abundant mercy in making Christ known to them in the gospel of His grace, they were born again unto a living, heavenly hope of true joy. The precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without spot or blemish, which He shed on the cross of Calvary, redeemed them from all their sin and bondage. His resurrection from among the dead, and exaltation to God's right hand in heaven, assured them of an eternal, heavenly inheritance reserved for them (1 Peter 1:4,5) and for all those who like them have owned their sins to God and personally trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

These possessors of unspeakable joy owed everything to the One whose love had provided salvation and lifted them above their trying circumstances with the all-sufficient joy of the Lord.

Sadly, the world knows nothing about this joy. The world seeks its joy in things which cannot satisfy the heart, but are like the morning mist that fogs the air and is soon dissipated by the sun. King Solomon knew what it was to try earthly things in pursuit of true joy. He obtained everything his eyes desired: pleasures, laughter, mirth, houses, vineyards, orchards, cattle, gold, silver, choirs, orchestras and more. But when he looked on all he had gotten, he said, "Behold, all was vanity [empty] and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).

Dear friend, where are you seeking joy? Is it in the things of time and sense which soon pass away, or you pass away from them? If you have never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of your immortal soul, you will never know "unspeakable joy" either in time or eternity. Rather it will be "unspeakable gloom" when you are forever banished from the presence of Christ, the giver of joy, into the blackness of darkness (Jude 13), where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13).

Joy, both now and forever, will be yours the moment you turn to God in repentance and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).