What Stands in the Way of Us Experiencing Joy?

One of my favorite reads in 2008 was Mike Mason’s book on joy, Champagne for the Soul (I refer to it here). In agreement with Mark, I’d nuance some things differently, but Mason is very helpful on joy. In an interview from earlier this year (it’s worth reading the whole thing), Mason answers an important question with great insight:

What stands in the way of us experiencing joy?

One thing: forgetting the gospel. The gospel is the most wonderful thing in the world. If you know it, and believe it, you will be joyful. You can’t help it. So if you’re not joyful, you’re not believing the gospel. You’ve lost touch with its amazing power. You’ve forgotten why you came to Jesus in the first place—because He, and He alone, has the words of life that set you free. He alone loves you not for anything you do…Everyone who gives their life to Jesus does so with great joy, because this news is so electrifying. The gospel is simple, but you’ll never encounter anything else like it. Over and over in my experiment I discovered great joy in a simple return to the gospel. It gave me the permission to keep stripping away from my life everything that doesn’t really work, everything that doesn’t truly bring deep, satisfying joy. My thought life, the way I prayed, my relationships, my work—everything was overhauled for the pure sake of joy and love. Only the gospel gives a person such radical freedom.