Dan Berry (ArtistOfWords) Offline

JOY

Joy (noun) A feeling of great pleasure or happiness.
(verb) rejoice.
(synonyms) delight, jubilation, triumph, exultation, exuberance, elation, bliss, and rapture.

Let's look at a few of the ways joy is used in scripture. In parts that confuse or seem to familiar, let's replace the word joy with a synonym and see if the spirit of the word is the same.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:9‭-‬10 ESV

These verses show us a people that are experiencing great sorrow or regret at having heard the law of God spoken. We cannot have true repentance without a sense of guilt at our sinful choices.

With the crowd upset, the people are told to eat the parts of the meat that were most pleasing as well as the sweet wine for drink.

They are asked to bless one another when they have nothing and told this day is holy to the Lord.

Do not be grieved and saddened. Don't be depressed or stressed because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

We have spoken before of the Lord's rest we are given. Joy amd rest go hand in hand. The triumph of the Lord is your strength. The exuberance of the Lord is your strength. One day the rapture of the Lord will be your strength in a literal sense.

No matter our stressor, our God is greater and brings us happiness on such a level it is hard to declare in words.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Philippians 1:3‭-‬5 ESV

Paul writes about the experience he receives when praying for this people. Just the memory of them brings him great joy.

Joy is a core part of our salvation and relationship with Jesus. It shows the peace inside us. Joy is morr than our emotions when we smile and say we are happy.

Joy in a spiritual sense is our inward rejoicing at tbe incredible blessings in our life and those promised in our future. God's word teaches four lessons about joy.

1) Joy is directly related to the spiritual salvation provided by the personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself up for us.

Joy is directly conmected to God's word. For this reason, true joy does not increase or decrease depending on our feelings or circumstances because it is based on tbe solid foundation of what Christ has already accomplished for us and on his eternal and unchanging Word.

When people ask about your state of happiness or joy, have you ever thought about crediting that also to God?

Instead of the joy of the Lord is my strength, you could also respond...How am I? I'm triumphant in Jesus name!

2) Joy comes from God as one aspect of the Holy Spirit's fruit. This is found in Galatians 5.

It is a character trait found in a Christian's life developed by God and only experienced while we are in a growing relationship with God.

Our joy increases when God's presence is near our lives. Jesus taught that complete joy is directly connected to knowing and remaining in God's Word, obeying his (Jesus' commands, loving others, and being set apart from the evil in the world.

Have you ever had a time of spiritual dryness? It may seem that the worship team plays a pleasant song (perhaps your favorite) and others may be singing along but you just don't seem to feel it.

In these times ask yourself, have I been in God's Word? Have I been obeying God's commands? Am I loving others the way Jesus would have me to?

Am I that priesthood that's set apart for God or am I just a man (or woman) that makes an appearance in God's house while dressing and acting the part of a stranger?

3) Joy comes from the comfort and delight of God's nearness amd his gifts of forgiveness, spiritual salvation, and an eternal relationship with Him. It can't be destroyed by pain, suffering, weakness, or any other difficulty.

What you receive from Jesus is yours. It is freely given to you...that is the love and saving grace from Jesus.

If you're not feeling that joy it is because you are not near enough to God. Can you have moments of sadness? Absolutely.

There is a time for all things just as we read in Ecclesiastes. Many times though, the only thing limiting your joy is you.

4) Going back to Nehemiah, joy provides the motivation and strength for serving God and fulfilling His purpose in our life.

What is your motivation today? Is God your guiding strength or is it something else? If it is something other than God, maybe you need to rethink your priorities.

Let's go now and see joy in action. Don't forget to compare joy to those synonyms we discussed earlier.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4‭-‬7 ESV

Rejoice always can mean many things as you can see. I like the word triumph still though. So triumph in the Lord.

You are a victor and the battle has already been won. Csn you think of any greater joy?

Those 4 verses reiterate all the the things we have already discussed so let's summarize them in closing.

1) Claim your spiritual salvation. It's yours!

2) Continue to grow in Jesus and your fruits will be seen by others. You won't have to tell anyone you are a Christian...they will know you are different!

3) Jesus declared the Father's concern for us in the parable of the sparrow. God is always near you so rest in His love.

4) Our motivation and our entire piece of mind will be of God. We know that by our trust and faith in God that all will be well even if we do not understand the situation we find ourselves in.

Let's all say truthfully then that the joy of the Lord truly is our strength.