The Fruit Of The Spirit- Joy
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
Joy is the second quality described as a part of the fruit of the Spirit.
Joy is very different to happiness. Happiness, as its name suggests, depends on what happens. It can be more variable than the weather. It can be generated by very poor reasons. A bank robber, for example, might be happy that he got away with it. We can be happy when a good thing distracts temporarily from a generally miserable life.
Whereas happiness comes from the outside, joy bubbles up from the inside. Our joy comes from our knowledge that we are loved and valued by God, we are adopted into His family, and set apart for a distinctive purpose.
I can be caught up in the worst of circumstances, such as grieving the sudden loss of a person I love, and yet the joy of the Lord is an unseen strength that prevents the loss from overwhelming me.
We are commanded on many occasions in Scripture to rejoice always. If joy were an emotion this would not make sense. We don’t seriously tell people to be happy when they are sad. But christians must rejoice, for we have much to celebrate.
The key to joy is to keep our focus on God and not on this worldly life. One great way to nurture joy in our lives is to develop a habit of giving thanks in all circumstances. Then it is not our circumstances that determine our joy, but the other way round.
To rejoice, start with a list of things to thank God for. Your salvation and your relationship with God, your personal and family relationships, the place that you live, the benefits that you enjoy each day, the air that you breathe, the beauty of creation.
When we go through the process of thanking God for the many benefits He has given us, joy is always close by. The fact is that joy is always in your life, just as surely as the Holy Spirit is. It is just that sometimes we focus on the wrong things.
This is not about positive thinking, but rather acknowledging that God is always with us and continues to pour blessing upon blessing on us. Positive thinking tries to persuade us that suffering is not real. Joy acknowledges our struggles, and then adds, “But God…” It is God who gives our life purpose and direction. Nothing can steal that from us.
Joy is the key signature of the christian life. Joy should be a key stone in every part of our lives.
There is so much to rejoice in and to be tankful for.