Podcast listener Zach Howell writes in to ask this, "Pastor John, is it okay to come to the Lord with a heart that is weary, beaten down, broken down, and joyless? Will He take you in without joy?" Here's what Jesus says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Or in another place, "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden." I think that's exactly the situation that Zach is describing.

"And I will give you rest." Or again, "Whoever comes to me shall not hunger." Jesus is honored when we come to Him for help. And in Zach's case, the help he needs is help to have joy again. Help not to be weary and broken down and without joy. Our joy—this is crucial—our joy does not happen away from Jesus so that it can function as a ticket to Jesus.

See, the question is kind of posed like, "If I don't have it, can I go get it?" Well, our joy happens with Jesus. The reason any of us comes to Jesus is because He is the joy we seek. We don't get it somewhere else and then come and say, "I've got it, Jesus, and can I come now?" No, we come to get it because He is it.

So the psalmist prays like this, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit." He's coming to God saying clearly, "I've lost my joy, and I know you're the only true source of it, so I'm coming to you. Please restore it as I come." Or that was Psalm 51.

Here's Psalm 85, "Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?" So we're like dead men. We need reviving. We need life, and the effect of this life will be joy. What kind of joy? In you. Rejoice in you. We come to you lifeless and joyless so that you will give life, and that life will spring up with joy.

And one more, "Gladden the soul of your servant." This is Psalm 86, "Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul." So he's seeking gladness. So he lifts up his soul to God. It's like lifting up the empty cup from someone 16.

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. My cup is empty, Lord. I've poured it out. I've done all I can do. I need gladness, so I come to you and lift up my soul for refreshment. So my answer is, "Yes, Zach, it is okay to come to God without any perceived affection of joy, not because joylessness is good, and not because joylessness is acceptable.

What is good and acceptable is the glory that God gets when we declare that we are done with all the failing pleasures of the slums of sin and acknowledge that God is the fountain of life, and when we come to him for joy and rest, no matter what it costs.

So the motive for coming is not based on prior experiences of joy in God. The motive for coming is, "He is the fountain of life. I have need. He has fullness. I will glorify his fullness by coming to him for joy." Thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for the question, Zach.

So is joy in God to be waited for or to be pursued by us? We tackled that related question way back in episode number 20. You can find it in the podcast archive, most easily found in the app for the iPhone and the Android. Again, that's episode number 20.

Like Zach, if you have a question for Pastor John, please email it in to us at AskPastorJohn@DesiringGod.org, and visit us online at DesiringGod.org to find thousands of free books, articles, sermons, and other resources, all from John Piper, free of charge. I'm your host Tony Rehnke, have a great weekend!