We all have several things in life that are indispensable. We cannot survive without air, water and food. You probably have some other things that you are certain that you could not live without.
I watched a lady on the news with tears, great sorrow and even joy as she watched her house burn to the ground. She made two comments that were notable. With great sorrow written across her face she said, “We lost everything.” Then with joy and great relief she said, “We are all alive and none of us were injured.”
During taxing days of suffering, great loss, and challenge, we need to remember what God has done for us. The Psalmist spoke often about the Lord being his strength, and deliverer. He said in the time of trouble, God will hide me in His pavilion.
Then he said, “The Lord is a shelter and refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalms 9:7; 27:5)
He said, “If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side, the waters of trouble would have overwhelmed us and the stream of trouble would have gone over our soul,” (Psalms 124).
Psalm 81:1 NIV Sing for joy to God our strength!
Do you see how God has helped us and has kept us safe? This is why we sing for joy.
Nehemiah, Ezra the priest, and the Levites taught the people to stop mourning and weeping. They said, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:8)
This message is prevalent throughout the Bible. When Jesus was teaching and preparing His disciples for life, He taught them to refuse to lose their joy.
John 15:11 NKJV These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
The things that Jesus taught them would give them full joy and rejoicing even in the midst of hard times. God has provided joy for believers. This joy destroys the destructive force of the enemy’s attack.
John 10:10 NKJV The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
God has made provision for each of us to have life and have it more abundantly. The secret to having abundant life is to incorporate the right spiritual ingredients into daily living. To achieve this, we must strongly hold to the things God has provided for us in Christ Jesus. I refuse to allow the thief to steal, kill, or destroy what God has given through Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23 talks about the ingredients that constitute the abundant life. We know these ingredients as the fruit of the Spirit. These things are the evidence that the Holy Spirit is living in us.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV84 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The Holy Spirit empowered life naturally produces this fruit in our lives. It is normal and natural for the born-again believer to have this fruit of the Spirit. If these characteristics are not evident in our lives, then something has robed us. The essence and power of God’s presence is customary and usual for the redeemed of the Lord. These things are characteristic of the abundant life. We can exist without the ingredients of the abundant life, but we cannot thrive without them. The true essence of abundant life is filled with these things. These ingredients are mentioned often. Joy is usually accompanied by faith hope and love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us faith, hope and love remain. Galatians 5 mentions love, joy and peace first.
These ingredients are typical in believers. Joy is consistently a mark of the believer and the church. The joy that is a quality of a believer’s character is not simply an emotion. It is established upon God Himself and comes from Him.
Psalm 16:11 NKJV You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
That is the testimony of everyone who has been saved. Do you remember the moment when you knew that your sins were forgiven and that you were saved? In that moment, you knew the joy of God’s presence and pleasure. New joy flooded your soul when the burden of sin was removed. This joy is characteristic of the Christian’s life.
1 Peter 1:8 NIV Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…
Joy is always related to the life of God’s people. Even in the Old Testament, their festivals, sacrifices, and coronations were filled with freely expressed joy and celebration. Spontaneous joy is a prevalent feature in the Psalms. Joy has always been the mark of personal and corporate worship.
Isaiah associated joy with the fullness of God’s salvation.
Isaiah 49:13 NIV Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
Isaiah 61:10 NIV I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Joy is a natural characteristic of God’s people. It is right for us to have joy because the Lord has comforted His people. Consider this rejoicing and singing to the Lord.
The Psalmist spoke about it.
Psalm 42:4 NIV These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
God’s people sang, shouted, and danced with joyful songs, (1 Samuel 18:6). Joy is related to every aspect of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Christ. Joy was connected with the announcement of Christ’s birth. It was freely expressed when Jesus made the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Luke 19:37 tells us, “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen…”
- In Matthew 28:8, after Jesus’ resurrection the disciples had great joy.
- In John 15:11, Jesus wanted His disciples to continue in His joy, and He wanted their joy to be full.
- Joy marked the life of the early church and accompanied the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- In Acts 8:8, everyone was filled with joy after miracles were performed.
- In Acts 15:3, when the Gentiles were converted, everyone was filled with joy.
- Even suffering and sorrow could not take away their joy, (2 Corinthians 6:10; Hebrews 10:34).
Something is terribly wrong when we lose our joy. This joy is a natural overflow of what God is doing inside of us.
Luke 6:45 NIV84 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
The fruit of joy does not come from a conscious effort. We don’t decide to have joy today. When we surrender our lives to God’s Spirit, we will have joy. This joy comes from the overflow of what is controlling us on the inside. If you are filled with anger, then anger controls your life. If you are filled with greed, then greed dominates your life. If you are filled with lust, then lust governs your life. If you are filled with love, then love influences all you do. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will be led by and controlled by the Spirit. If you know that you are really saved, you should be filled with joy and rejoicing.
In Luke 10:20 Jesus said, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This rejoicing does not start when we all get to heaven. True joy begins when we know that our sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Do you know that you are saved? If you don’t know for sure, you need to bring all of your sin to Jesus. You need to lay them all down. You can find true cleansing and forgiveness in Him. He will fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you joy. Lift your hands and thank God for His saving grace. Praise His name for true joy. You can keep your joy by trusting God to take you through.
Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Our joy does not depend on the events of this world. Trials, tribulations, suffering, and sacrifice come to all of us. Here is the good news, they will also go. The Apostle Paul knew the secret of this inexpressible joy. He faced all kinds of situations and circumstances in life. Yet, he could continue rejoicing regardless of his situation.
2 Corinthians 7:4 NKJV “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.”
2 Corinthians 7:4 NRSV “I am overjoyed in all our affliction.”
Acts 20:24 “None of these things move me… so that I might finish my course with joy.”
He refused to lose his joy. He kept on going with the joy of the Lord as his strength. He chose to look past the things that were happening to him and consider the prize that was coming. Keep your focus on the joy that the Lord has laid before us. Even when trouble or tribulation increase, stay focused on the joy that is before you.
You can refuse to lose your joy. Take a positive stand in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming to your aid. Keep holding on, through Christ Jesus the Lord you will win. You are an invincible champion through Jesus Christ. Victory is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord!
