Is God a Season of Joy or a Joy that is Without Season?
Good Morning Friends,
Do you know how to find the Spirit of Joy? Joy is a word that often appears in the Bible with other words such as love and peace and praise and comfort. It is a fruit and a gift that is related to the Kingdom and the Way of Jesus. Joy is also an attitude that we are called to experience and share as a witness to the world that we are loved by God. Like the wind we feel it but do not quite see it nor can we. It is at the heart of the word enjoyment and is the very thing that is in the cup of life. In the Bible wine is the symbol of joy and we are to fill the cup to overflowing. In the Bible joy is a journey of love that is more than being happy. Friends, we have a choice to rejoice in life. If we are conducting ourselves as citizens of God’s Kingdom….if we are seeking the evidence of the presence of God in our lives we will hopefully be striving together for something more tangible than wind. God is what we seek, but really is quite indescribable when the Spirit of Jesus is attached to our very souls. Sometimes we are surprised because joy is transformative and it makes us wonder. Is God a Season of Joy or a Joy that is Without Season?
Scripture: Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:16-26 (NRSV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV)
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Psalm 100:12 (KJV)
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:1-11 (NRSV)
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11 (NRSV)
Message: For me joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life. I experience joy in the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright. Friends, we have a choice to praise God in every situation. My friend Reid just got back from Haiti and he and his grandson were amazed at the joy in the hearts of the people in the village they visited. They shared in a series of weddings and baptisms of the people of the village as a sacrament of community. Somehow the sharing of joyful human relationships, one with another, is an ordained method that God uses for humanity to be restored into a right relationship with Him. To have this joy in our relationships we need to affirm others while correctly placing our confidence in God. We need to believe that the love we have received from Christ can be in the very presence of community and here as we reciprocate the love we have received from Christ to others find joy in the love received. Here the source of unending joy is when we realize that we serve an awesome God that seeks to save us. So if you want joy, let Jesus come into your heart. Happiness depends on what happens. It is external but joy comes from inside when we are filled with the Spirit of God and the fruits of the Spirit are obvious in our lives. But there is also a gift. That is beyond the joy of Christmas. On the last night of His life Jesus talks to his disciples in the Upper Room about love and joy. He is talking about the joy set before Him to endure the cross. He is talking about the love we are to have in our lives as evidence of His resurrection. The message is that in times of trials and tribulations we are to experience God’s provision through good fellowship, good heritage, good counsel and good hope. We are to experience the riches of our spiritual inheritance secured in the joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ. Maybe that is why the people in this village in Haiti were so joyful. They somehow, even in the face of difficulty, have reason to bless God for the fullness of joy in the presence of what is Holy. So today I hope you will receive encouragement and rejoice in the joy that God always intended us to experience together. Today I hope we will be made glad in the unity of the Spirit. Friends in relationship with Christ we are new creatures living in the joy and assurance of Jesus. And He is not just the gift of the season, though there are seasons, but in addition something magnificently eternal.
Pray that on the journey we will find joy in the Holy Spirit. Pray that we nurture our relationship with Jesus in confession of our sins but also asking Him to ripen the fruit of joy in our lives. Pray that in prayer we recognize God as joyful. Pray we are never too busy to enjoy Jesus.
Pray we experience joy, peace and happiness when we bless others. Pray we praise the Lord so we might enjoy the benefits and pleasure of worship.
Pray that our sorrow be turned into joy. Pray Christ’s joy may be in us, and that our joy becomes complete. Pray we realize that the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
Pray the cup of salvation fill us with satisfaction and joy. Pray that worry does not steal our joy. Pray we recognize the enemies of joy and have freedom and claim victory over them. Pray we not let a difference in perspective alone divide us. Pray our guilt be resolved. Pray that our wounded ego find refuge in the Lord. Pray we not have unrealistic expectations. Pray we are attached and connected to God. Pray we are overjoyed when His glory is revealed. Pray we give away our lives so we might find them. Pray we not loses heart. Pray that Jesus would pour out His joy to each of those reading this word today so that each would acknowledge that God is our protector, our delight, our inheritance, our firm foundation, our resurrection and our path of life…the fullness of joy forever. Pray we be aware of God each day. Pray we eat of the fruit that is never out of season. Pray we learn to enjoy the promises. Pray we experience the joy of finding the lost. Pray we commit ourselves completely to experiencing the kind of joy God intended. Pray we realize that JOY is focusing on Jesus. Pray we realize that JOY is focusing on Others. Pray we realize that JOY is only then focusing on Yourself.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 