Fruit of Joy
My prayer for you as you begin to read my post is that you will allow the Spirit of the Lord to reveal Himself and the Word of God to you clearly. I pray you will receive a revelation through the Spirit that will cause your spirit to rejoice in the truth of God’s Word!
The fruit of the Spirit we are going to delve into today is the second one listed in Galatians 5:22 (NKJV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…” Joy!
As I was preparing to write this post, in order to gain a clear understanding of the word, joy, I searched out numerous definitions and descriptions.
The Greek word used for joy in Galatians 5:22 is chara which, according to Strong’s Definitions Legend, means: joy, gladness, cheerfulness, and calm delight. Of course, as with most words, there is a superlative. In Wordnik, joy means: intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness.
What experiences in life have given you a first hand understanding of what it is like to be acquainted with the feeling of joy? When you received a desired item unexpectantly? When you were old enough to drive? When he asked you to marry him? When she said “yes!”? Your wedding day? The birth of a baby? Seeing your baby’s first smile? Hearing your child say his first word? Getting a job or promotion? Buying a house? Getting your first car? Receiving Christ as Savior? Being water baptized? Receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
desiringgod.org defines Christian joy as “a 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.” It also added, “A good feeling.”
When I looked at synonyms for the word ‘joy’, I found: happiness, elation, cheerfulness, exuberance and euphoria.
We need to come to understand that joy is a choice and the Lord is the originator of true joy.
The quote I discovered on the website, Christianity.com is excellent. “Biblical joy is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction because we know that God will use these experiences to accomplish His work, in and through our lives.”
We see the truth of this quote, based on James 1:2-4 (CSB), “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” The Greek word for ‘consider’ means: count, deem, think - it a great joy. That means we do not base our belief on our inner feeling or sentiment because, we understand God will use those trials to work His will and purpose out in us, so that we may be “mature, complete, and lacking nothing.”
Before we go farther, I want to remind you of what I shared in my last three posts (11/16/22, “Fruit of the Spirit”; 11/22/22, “Imperative Relationship” and 11/30/22, Fruit of Love”) If you haven’t had a chance to read these previous posts, I strongly encourage you to do so. For those who have not read them, I reiterate, “The fruit of the Spirit is the work, act, or deeds that originate from the Spirit of God.” “The fruit of the Spirit reveals and represents the very nature of God.”
As always, it is important for you to know that the Word of God is the final authority of truth for my posts.
In Isaiah 61, the prophet described the ministry of God’s anointed ones. ( i.e. Jesus and the ministry He passed on to His church). Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV), “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." Note: these scriptures reveal, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He has sent me to proclaim, to comfort, to console, and to give them…the oil (anointing) of joy”. You see, the Spirit of the Lord is Who calls and enables us to minister to those who have needs.
I love the visual the Lord gives us in Isaiah 51:3 (KJV), “For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody (song!).” The Lord will comfort and give joy and gladness in those places in our lives where and when we go through the desert and wilderness. Joy is present in His garden and because of that, it will produce thanksgiving and song!
The joy of the Lord is achieved in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13, (NLT), “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Colossians 1:10 and 11 (NKJV), “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy”
It is our relationship with God through Christ that produces pure joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus, we know that God loves and and wants His best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT), “For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Our intimate relationship with God deepens and flourishes when we spend time with Him. As our relationship with His solidifies, it builds our trust in Him.
His Word produces joy! Psalm 19:8a (NLT), ”The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.”
In His presence is fulness of joy! Psalm 16:11 (ESV), “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
He puts abundant joy in our hearts! Psalm 4:7 (ESV), “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
Here is good news! The joy which is a fruit of the God’s Spirit is unshakable and stands even in the midst of affliction! 1 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV), “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,” The word translated affliction in this verse means: oppression, tribulation, distress, and straits. The joy (chara) is the joy which is formed, fashioned, and made by the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of the Spirit.
The Word of God reveals that even when nothing is going right or as planned, we can choose joy! Habakkuk 3:17 and 18 (NLT), “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
Grab hold of this truth! No one can take the joy the Lord gives us away! John 16:22 (NLT), “So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.”
I will end today’s post with this magnificent scripture. Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV), “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. The word ‘rejoice’, sus, in the Hebrew means to exult or rejoice. ‘Joy’, simha, means: joy, gladness, or mirth. The phrase ‘joy over thee’, gil in the Hebrew means: to leap for joy, to dance, to go in a circle, rejoice, be glad and exult. This verse reveals God’s nature! The fruit of joy! Truth in Action in the NSFLB states this: God sings, shouts for joy, and dances over you because He loves you so much!
Hallelujah!
NKJV New King James Version
CSB Christian Standard Bible
KJV King James Version
NLT New Living Translation
ESV Eastern Standard Version
NSFLB New Spirit Filled Life Bible