I remember singing a
little chorus; I’ve got the joy, joy, joy,
joy down in my heart. Watching many
Christians today, though, makes me wonder why there seems to be so
little joy among God’s
people? We seem to have everything figured out except how
to be joyful. Joy is
a fruit of the Spirit. It’s something that should be developing in
each of us, as believers.
You
know you haven't got the joy when you are constantly complaining.
You know you haven't go the joy when you often withdraw from
spiritual life or even life in general. You know you haven't got the
joy when you are angry a good portion of the time. You know you
haven't got the joy when you sense a constant frustration in your
life. You know you haven't got the joy when you are seldom grateful.
If
the joy is missing from your life it could be due to a number of
reasons. For example, perhaps you haven't got the joy because you
lost it to your own self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is
incredibly common – even among Christians. Self-centeredness is
the enemy of joy.
Maybe
you lack joy because you are focused on circumstances. Biblical
joy is unrelated to circumstances. Paul, the apostle, is proof of
that. You see, a focus on circumstances limits your joy to when
times are good. The reality is, even when times are bad, when you
are going through a trial or a valley you can still have the joy of
the Lord.
Christians are some of the
most negative people I know. This negativity can zap the joy in your
life. I'm not sure why so many Christians are so negative. After
all, the child of God always has reason to be positive. Think about
it, we've been forgiven! Our sins are gone! Jesus has gone to prepare
a place for us. He sits at the right hand of God ever making
intercession for us. I could go on and on.
Sometimes
its a spirit of rebellion that takes our joy away. A rebellious
Christian is never a happy
Christian. To the Christian, rebellion is the rejection of God's
rule.
Disobedience
to God will certainly impact the joy of the Lord in our lives.
Obedience is the
pathway to joy. A
disobedient spirit is always joyless.
Perhaps
you are substituting other things for the genuine joy you are looking
for. Things such as happiness, mindlessness, activity, acquiring
things, even relationships. While these things, in and of
themselves, are not bad, they are no substitute for the joy of the
Lord.
Jesus tells us how to
obtain this joy in John 15. He said in John
15:11, These things have I spoken unto you, that My
joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. So
if you really want joy, it comes from God’s pruning (Vs 2), living
a godly life (Vs 3), abiding in Jesus (Vs 4, 6, 7), exposure to
Scripture (Vs 3), answers to prayer (Vs 7), a sense of God’s love
(Vs 9), basic obedience (Vs 10), real fruit bearing (Vs 8). Joy
is developed as we grasp
the things recorded in John 15. As His
joy remains in us, our
joy will be full.
Until
next time...enjoy the journey!
Ray
Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward a link or use the icons below to repost this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment