Be Joyful Always

Have you ever read scriptures about Joy and gone “Seriously!!!”? There are some wonderful scriptures about joy and rejoicing in good times, but for believers, Joy is not just for the good times, but the tough times too. Maybe some of these come to mind…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds - James 1:2 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings… Rom 3:5 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit. 1 Thes 1:6 In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. 2 Cor 7:4 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:13 How do we maintain a sense of Joy, if Joy is merely a feeling? We don’t control our feelings or choose our feelings, we just feel them. There must be more to this. I love this definition of Christian Joy from John Piper:

“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.” – John Piper

Biblical Joy, Spiritual Joy is a feeling, an emotion – but its not a feeling that is a result of circumstances or things happening around you, but rather because of who we have living in us and in whom we live and have our hope. This feeling occurs in our Soul, the immaterial part of our personhood, not our body, though my body may respond to these feelings. Joy is produced as a fruit of the Holy Spirit residing within our hearts. “The fruit of the [Holy] Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” Gal 5:22–23. As a result, the joy in my soul overflowing towards God is coming from the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to glorify Jesus Christ (John 16:14), which means the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of my heart to see the beauty of Christ. When I see Christ and all that he is doing, and all that he is, then my heart is drawn out in joy towards him. That is why even in the middle of our storms, in the face of our giants, in the grip of tough circumstances, we can have Joy of knowing; our God is for us, He has already won the victory, secured our salvation, will never leave us, has made us more than overcomers and is in the process of working in us and through us for His glory. I want to encourage you, even in the middle of a storm or a fight, don’t forget to meditate on who God is, and what He has already won and established for you. Do a bit of rejoicing, give a sacrifice of Praise to Jesus. You can’t lose when your focus is on Him. Grace and Shalom Peace to you all Love Derek and Fiona