Dear Readers
Thank you so much for joining me on this site. I pray that that the scriptures in this article would bless you richly and that through them God would reveal himself to you, as He has to me, by the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of Jesus! As you read on, I pray that you would hear what Jesus has to say to you through the Holy Spirit.
What is the joy of the Lord?
Let’s start by examining the Greek word for ‘joy’ in the above verse Romans 15:13.
The Greek word for ‘joy’ in this verse is ‘chara’ (pronounced ‘khar-ah’) and is a transliteration (Transliteration is the process of transferring a word from the alphabet of one language to another. Transliteration helps people pronounce words and names in foreign languages) of the original Greek word (using the Greek alphabet) Χαρά (xará).
This Greek word is also used for the word ‘joy’ in Galatians 5:22, joy being one of the nine facets of the fruit of the Spirit!
So, getting back to the full Greek meaning of ‘joy’ we see that it embraces all this: joy, delight, a source of joy, joy because of the grace of God, God’s extended favour to, a leaning towards, be favourably disposed to), the awareness (of God's) grace, favour, love and joy in our lives ("grace recognized") – Strong’s 5479, 5485, 5463.
When we look at this word picture of the biblical context of ‘joy’ we see that it is not all about dancing and skipping around like a carefree child. No, it’s all about cultivating a lifestyle of being immersed in Jesus and the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit. Immersing ourselves in the agape love of God and drawing our joy (from our relationship with Jesus) to meet and overcome the obstacles we face in our daily lives from Jesus through the Holy Spirit by God’s amazing grace and our recognising God’s grace in our lives! This is where the Christian’s strength comes from – the joy of the Lord!
Let’s take an example from Nehemiah who restored the protective walls around Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
We too can be like the Jews during Nehemiah’s time where even in the midst of adversity and strife, physically, mentally and spiritually, the joy of the Lord is our strength and in Him we are overcomers and can still enjoy our life in Christ Jesus and continue to spread His kingdom.
Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our life as born-again Christians here on earth is all about Jesus. Jesus – God, Jesus – the man and Jesus – the Bible – Jesus the Spirit – The Holy Trinity. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing, and we are nothing, without Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, our lives are meaningless – a chasing after the wind! In Jesus we can overcome the world and all that the devil can throw at us!
John 16:33 (NIV)
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In Christ Jesus our joy is found in His strength and in this we have peace and the ability to overcome the world! Apart from Jesus we can do nothing!
John 15:5-8 (NIV)
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
When we, as born-again Christians, are living our lives in the Spirit the fruit of the Spirit will be manifest in us and through us to the world. This is the lifestyle that God uses in His children (the Church) to draw people to salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit will add to the number of believers when our lifestyles truly reflect Jesus and when we live life in the Spirit.
Now, nothing that God does happens by chance, He is a God of order and is all knowing. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end!
It is not by chance that the Apostle Paul in the above verses (the fruit of the Spirit) mentions love first and then immediately places joy thereafter. He was following the example of Jesus when He was talking to His disciples in John 15 about remaining in Him.
Let’s examine this carefully and analyse the following verses!
John 15:9-14 (NIV)
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
In verses 9-11 above the Lord is telling us that He loves us in the same way the Father loves Him, and He then encourages us to remain in His love. He then tells us how we can remain in His love and thus in the Father’s love – by keeping His commands. Being obedient to His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit!
Why does Jesus tell us this?
Verse 11, so that His joy, the joy that He has received by the grace of the Father (remember here that Jesus was without sin), may be in us and that because of this our joy will be complete!
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP)
He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].
Romans 15:13 (AMP)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.
The joy of a born-again Christian is not experienced through our soulish emotions and how we are treated by others or on how good we feel about the things that happen around us, it is experienced in the depth of the love God has for us and the depth of the love that we have for our Saviour Jesus and our willingness to live life in the Spirit and to be fully obedient to God’s Word and to ‘love your neighbour as yourself!’
Remember Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that the Father had set before him, this is the same joy we receive when we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour! Through Jesus we each have our cross to bear, and through Him in the power of the Holy Spirit we are overcomers and so our joy remains eternal!
Hebrews 12:1-2 (AMP)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, 2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].
As the Apostle Paul says let us finish our race which is the completion of our work on earth that God Himself has predestined for us to do! We can only do this when we are in Christ Jesus and are filled with the holy Spirit which enable and empowers us to live life in the Spirit – the Christian life that God intends for us!
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
In the name of Jesus, I pray that your joy would be in me so that my joy may be complete regardless of the physical circumstances that surround me. Help me Lord, to cultivate a lifestyle that will be immersed in you and your Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. Father let your will be done in my life and not my will! Amen.
All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!
Jesus the Name above all names!
Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!