June 2, 2015 JOY
Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill with you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The believers that Paul was writing to were living in a culture that was hostile to Christians and persecution was the norm- yet he was talking about being filled with joy! I don’t think Paul was expecting them to be “happy”, as happiness is tied to circumstances at the moment and happiness will come and go as circumstances change. On the other hand, joy is not dependent on circumstances but joy comes from knowing and trusting God who is the source of joy. When you think about it, it really is a miracle-a gift from God- to have joy even in the midst of trials. Trusting God and the fact that He is sovereign and that He loves, takes us out of the “natural” to a place where we can rise above the circumstances. When our trust is in God, we can see beyond the circumstances in which we find ourselves and we can be assured that “God is working all things for our good.” This does not mean that we don’t experience pain in adverse circumstances, but we do receive God’s strength “to help in time of need.” Joy is to be a hallmark of Christians. The definition of “hallmark” is fitting: “a mark stamped on articles of gold, silver or platinum in Britain, certifying their standard of purity-a stamp of authenticity.” The fruit of knowing God as Father is joy. However, just because one is a believer does not guarantee he or she will experience the joy of the Lord. It’s true to say that having the joy of the Lord is conditional. There are many factors that determine whether or not we experience the joy which is our birthright as a child of God. The overriding factor is whether or not we know our true identity as believers-that we have been made new and given new minds and new hearts enabling us to think like He thinks and live life as He designed. If we do not realize, and appropriate the fact that the old us has been crucified with Christ, we will not experience the abiding joy of the Lord. Even though we may know our identity in Him, there will likely be occasions when we do not have joy-and God knows that and that is why we have the scriptural admonition to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” God does not give us formulas to live by but He calls us to a living relationship with Him and the greater we understand this relationship we have with Him, the greater the joy. We will discover that joy may defy logic and we find joy flowing from the inside out like “rivers of living water” (John7:38). Reading and applying the scriptures, doing the things that please the Lord, blessing others, being a part of a local church, and developing faithfulness are things we can do (not a formula-but because we love Him) that will make His joy a present reality. I believe that each of us want the hallmark of joy. Let us remember that we are called to a living, vital daily relationship with our Father and it is in His heart to fill us with His joy no matter what is taking place around us. Those around us need to see joy expressed-so let us be the ones to let the joy of the Lord shine through. If for some reason you don’t know His joy at the present, then be reminded that He wants to give you His joy-it’s yours for the asking.
Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Psalms 16:11: “Thou will make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill with you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The believers that Paul was writing to were living in a culture that was hostile to Christians and persecution was the norm- yet he was talking about being filled with joy! I don’t think Paul was expecting them to be “happy”, as happiness is tied to circumstances at the moment and happiness will come and go as circumstances change. On the other hand, joy is not dependent on circumstances but joy comes from knowing and trusting God who is the source of joy. When you think about it, it really is a miracle-a gift from God- to have joy even in the midst of trials. Trusting God and the fact that He is sovereign and that He loves, takes us out of the “natural” to a place where we can rise above the circumstances. When our trust is in God, we can see beyond the circumstances in which we find ourselves and we can be assured that “God is working all things for our good.” This does not mean that we don’t experience pain in adverse circumstances, but we do receive God’s strength “to help in time of need.” Joy is to be a hallmark of Christians. The definition of “hallmark” is fitting: “a mark stamped on articles of gold, silver or platinum in Britain, certifying their standard of purity-a stamp of authenticity.” The fruit of knowing God as Father is joy. However, just because one is a believer does not guarantee he or she will experience the joy of the Lord. It’s true to say that having the joy of the Lord is conditional. There are many factors that determine whether or not we experience the joy which is our birthright as a child of God. The overriding factor is whether or not we know our true identity as believers-that we have been made new and given new minds and new hearts enabling us to think like He thinks and live life as He designed. If we do not realize, and appropriate the fact that the old us has been crucified with Christ, we will not experience the abiding joy of the Lord. Even though we may know our identity in Him, there will likely be occasions when we do not have joy-and God knows that and that is why we have the scriptural admonition to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” God does not give us formulas to live by but He calls us to a living relationship with Him and the greater we understand this relationship we have with Him, the greater the joy. We will discover that joy may defy logic and we find joy flowing from the inside out like “rivers of living water” (John7:38). Reading and applying the scriptures, doing the things that please the Lord, blessing others, being a part of a local church, and developing faithfulness are things we can do (not a formula-but because we love Him) that will make His joy a present reality. I believe that each of us want the hallmark of joy. Let us remember that we are called to a living, vital daily relationship with our Father and it is in His heart to fill us with His joy no matter what is taking place around us. Those around us need to see joy expressed-so let us be the ones to let the joy of the Lord shine through. If for some reason you don’t know His joy at the present, then be reminded that He wants to give you His joy-it’s yours for the asking.
Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Psalms 16:11: “Thou will make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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