EXPERIENCING GOD’S JOY
Can we experience joy in a world that seems to instill fear, tragedy, and distress? Just listen to or watch the news. It seems like bad news, long faces, and heavy hearts are everywhere, even sometimes, in houses of worship.
We can define joy as the sense of well-being within our souls, regardless of circumstances, that comes from knowing we belong to Jesus Christ, that God loves us, that he is faithful to his promises, and that he is powerful to help us in time of need.
Jesus talked about joy a lot. Despite incredible obstacles and trials, Jesus even modeled it and taught about it. In John 15:11 Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
In John 17:13 Jesus prayed to the Father, “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” Did you catch it? Jesus had joy and he wants to share that joy with his children
And the whole of Scripture supports the truth that within God dwells the fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.” Galatians 5:22 tells us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The God whom you have been filled with at salvation longs to produce the fruit of joy in your life. He longs to make you a joyful person from the inside out. Below is the secret to having joy in your heart.
1. Remember your Savior and the salvation he has provided. David said in Psalm 35:9, “My soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in his salvation.” After his sin with Bathsheba, David cries out to God, “Restore to me the joy of thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12).
2. Study and meditate on the Word of God. In Jeremiah 15:16, he proclaims, “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.” The Apostle John wrote in I John 1:4, “And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”
3. Submit to the control of the Holy Spirit. Paul reinforces the above Scriptures when he states in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Paul commends the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 1:6, “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”
4. Spend time in prayer with God. Jesus promised in John 16:24, “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name, ask, and you will receive, that your joy many be made full.” In God’s presence is “fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11)
5. Share your faith. In the parable of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son, there is much rejoicing when the sheep, the coin, and the son are found. In Luke 15:10, Jesus proclaims, “I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Psalm 16:8-9 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.” CHOOSE JOY!
