"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12
I know, what a heavy verse to start off a post that is talking about the topic of joy, but I promise you there is a good reason for it. Bear with me as I share a tough pill for all of us to swallow, but one that I feel is so very important to each of us in our walks with the Lord.
Each one of us is bound to go through trials, tribulations and even persecution in this life, in fact, scripture tells us that we should expect it. The Lord is not going to wrap us in a Holy Ghost bubble and not allow us to walk through the fire a time or two. If He did, then all that would become of us is a bunch of spoiled rotten brats who are disillusioned to how much Christ had to sacrifice for us so that we can now live in freedom by His redeeming blood.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 2:2-4
Joy is not something we can produce. I think many of us, myself included, are guilty of trying to create a false sense of joy. I guess we figure that if we look the part, then eventually it will become our reality. For some of us, we are just so good at hiding our broken hearts and suffering spirits behind a smiling face and bubbly personality, but true joy only comes from one place. True joy flows our Heavenly Father Himself and it radiates out of us from our innermost being. True joy is planted by the Lord, grown by faith and then flows out of us uncontrollably. There is no button we can push to control our joy. Joy is not something we work towards or can earn for the sole reason that we as human beings cannot produce true joy. True joy catches the attention of others. It’s enticing and contagious. True joy makes others question what it is that they are missing. True joy leaves people wondering how someone can go through numerous rounds of chemotherapy treatments without being angry at the world. True joy leaves the unsaved scratching their heads when someone gets fired from their job and walks out the door excited for the next opportunity God is bringing their way. True joy baffles the bystander when someone has lost their only child to a drunk driver and instead of getting angry they are praying for the driver’s soul. True joy allows us to walk through the darkest valleys and come out the other side with a greater measure of faith. True joy gives us hope in the hopeless times, peace in the time of war and faith in the impossible. This is why joy is a fruit of the spirit. Fruit of the spirit cannot be faked, it cannot be duplicated and it cannot be copied. True joy is a God-given gift.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
My husband and I have the blessing of being friends with a couple who have walked through the valley of multiple sclerosis. When we first met this precious couple the wife was completely mobile. Now, she is in a wheelchair and slowly moving toward the world of blindness. Yet, through this challenge that they have faced together, I have never in my life seen a better example of joy flowing out of anyone like the two of them. It is truly contagious! Just to spend five minutes with them is enough to see that the joy of the Lord truly is their strength. There is no earthly explanation for it! They glow with joy. It is written on their faces. Their circumstances do not define their level of joy because it is truly given by God. I pray that each of you comes across someone in your lifetime that the joy of the Lord just explodes out of them, or better yet that the Lord fills you with such joy that you become contagious.
“...Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10b
Just like this couple, it truly is possible for this God-given joy to flow out of us like a raging river and for that joy to carry us through our greatest trials and persecutions in strength. Encapsulated within that raging river of joy is the Lord’s strength. In the natural, when a river overflows its banks, it is full of great power. It’s this great force that causes levies and dams to break in times of flooding. When the joy of the Lord is flowing out of us with this type of force and we can no longer contain it, that is when God’s strength is evident in our weakness. This is why we can say “the joy of the Lord is my strength.”
I have been hearing a song recently that has been encouraging to me in this area of joy and I wanted to share it with you. The song is called Joy of the Lord by Rend Collective. I hope you get a chance to follow the link below to listen to it. May it encourage you in this area of joy as well.
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