“But the fruit of the Spirit is….joy…”
I want to revisit one of my favorite topics – joy. There is a difference between joy and happiness. For all practical purposes, happiness is temporary, while joy is embedded in our hearts and minds. I’m certainly not against being happy, in fact, I am happy every chance I get, but Jesus did not promise me happiness, but He did promise me joy. Happiness is not listed as a “fruit of the Spirit,” while joy is listed. In John 15:11 Jesus promised His disciples, and it is also a promise to us: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” There are two things about Christian joy that I want to show you in this verse. Jesus said “that my joy might remain in you...” We actually have the joy of Christ inside of us, and it will “remain in (us).” This verse reminds us that our “joy may be full.” This means that the joy of Jesus in us will not be removed from us and that His joy would be full joy. This means that Christ’s joy will be with us, and in us, through thick and thin, bad times and good times. Occasionally, I have to remind myself of this innate joy that Jesus has placed in my life. I would add that you might need to claim it for yourself. We are reminded in Psalm 100:1-2 that we should show this joy: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.” I am not sure that this is what people see in us while we are in corporate worship, as we leave worship services and as we live before the world daily. This Christ-given joy is so much a part of our lives, and one of His most prominent gifts to us by His own testimony. Certainly the Holy Spirit expects us to be joyful people, since He has gifted us with it. I do not mean that we should plant plastic smiles on our faces and act happy. I mean that we should be aware of this God-given joy, and that it should be shown in our demeanor. We are also reminded that we are to share this joy with the world. If the world gets to know and experience the joy of Christ, it will be through those of us who know Jesus as Savior. The joy that we have in us should reveal itself through us as we live in the world. One of the greatest ways that we can share this joy with others is by ministering to them in the name of Jesus. Our joy is not advertised by the “joyful noise” that we make at worship, because most of the people we will encounter in our lives will not be in worship services. But we will encounter people where we work, where we worship, where we shop, and in our recreation. We need to live, show and share this joy that we have in Jesus with the world. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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