The Bible describes Christian joy as a fruit of the Spirit, as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.” According to this scripture, joy is not merely an emotion like happiness, which is often tied to circumstances or events. Instead, Christian joy is a deep, abiding sense of gladness that is stirred by the Holy Spirit. It is distinct from worldly joy, which, as the Oxford Dictionary defines it, is “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” The joy of the Lord transcends temporary circumstances and is rooted in the presence and work of the Holy Spirit within us.
What is this Christian joy? From my perspective, I would say it is a knowing on your inside or in your heart that God has got you. You “feel” or know and have peace that God is in control or has your back- particularly concerning plaguing issues. It is the gladness that comes from the confidence or peace the Holy Spirit gives us to let us know that God is in control and guiding us. While it may sometimes express itself as a feeling of happiness, true Christian joy we receive from the Holy Spirit, affirming that God is in control, regardless of the circumstances. This is my own definition- quite all over the place 😊.
But it aligns with Paul’s idea of joy in Philippians 4. Paul talks a lot about joy in the book of Philippians. It is said he mentions it sixteen times in this book. Also, he was in prison when he wrote the book (and he could still write it cheerfully- not normal).
Are we joyful as Christians?
Are we joyful as Christians? – are we meant to be joyful in all situations even the tough ones? According to the Bible, we should or at least look to God to help us be- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I believe the reason is not for us to be zombies to just be joyful but because God wants us to trust in him. He wants to help us trust in him Proverbs 3:5-6.
The Bible encourages us to be joyful, Philippians 4:4, John 16:24, Psalm 40:4. I must confess this is not easy. Only this morning, I woke up, or should I say I got up from a rough night. I have been going through some spiritual warfare. In fact, it had gotten so bad that I could not sleep properly for some days. One night, the Spirit led me to a bible study teaching that had just the word to calm me, and my heart was comforted, and I was able to go through the next couple of days in joy- confidence in God that he had heard my cries and answered my prayers.
Then, not long after that, events unfolded that had me returning to my slump (o God where is the answer to my prayer). This morning, after another restless night praying and asking for the Lord’s intervention in my matter, the Spirit led me to 2 Kings 18 and 19 when I was preparing to study for this post. The story details how King Hezekiah, whom the Lord declares as a man who fears God, was under siege. The situation was so dire that he offered the treasures in the temple of the Lord to the king of Assyria in exchange for Jerusalem to be spared from slaughter and exile.
In 2 Kings 18: 13-37, the king of Assyria made real threats backed by their reputation – shall I say that their reputation preceded them. They went on to thoroughly intimidate the Israelites in 2 Kings 18: 19-35. The intimidation was so severe that the king became distressed, rented his clothes, and ran into the temple to seek the Lord. But the Bible says in 2 Kings 19:5-7 that God was not bothered and instead gave King Hezekiah a message through the prophet Isaiah.
He told him not to be afraid – This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’
He then went on to reassure him in 2 Kings 19:20-34. This reassurance gave Hezekiah peace, joy, and confidence, but it also comforted my heart and allowed me to be joyful and hopeful again about my own situation. So, the Holy Spirit gave me joy about my challenges using the Bible. I have also become hopeful again about my challenges, and this hope has flooded my heart with joy, so much so that I was able to write this blog today smiling.
For Hezekiah, his breakthrough came almost immediately as the Lord set things in motion for his victory. That same night in 2 Kings 19: 35-36, an angel of the Lord slaughtered 185,000 soldiers of the King of Assyria. Wow, what a victory. But God was not finished, he also had the king himself killed by his own sons in 2 Kings 19: 37. I guess it is safe to say it is better to hinge your bet on God, as not only is he mighty to save and deliver, he also gives us joy to trust in him and be confident in him while we wait.
While my own victory has not come that swiftly yet or should I say although I may not have seen the physical manifestation yet, I have the assurance that God is not a man that he should lie Numbers 23:19 and this gives me joy, peace and hope that he will grant me my petition like he did Hannah – 1 Samuel 1:9-28. I pray for the grace to stay in his joy and confidence until he brings it to pass.
A call to know the joy of the Lord
If you are yet to know the joy of the Lord, that means if you are yet to be born again, then allow me to share the good news with you.
The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23. This means that every one of us is born estranged from God due to our sinful nature. This nature was handed down to us by our lineage and existence to Adam, the first man. It was through him that sin came into our lives – Romans 5:12. Sin is simply our human nature, it is hostile to God. We want to do things ourselves, we want to be the Lord of our lives- we do not want anyone telling us what to do- let alone a God we cannot see.
Unfortunately, this nature only has one end, death – Romans 3:23. Not only a physical death- which we must all suffer but also a spiritual death which means eternal separation from God- Isaiah 59:2. You see man is not just a physical being, though many will argue that we are just that. Man is made up of a spirit (your inner being), your soul (how you express this inner being), and a body- the physical aspect that you and I see.
On the other hand, God is a Spirit John 4:24. We cannot see God with our physical eyes. This is often what challenges us to believe him or in him. This is because God does not have a physical body and we come to know him through our spirits. The Bible says we are made by God for God (Isaiah 43:21, I Samuel 12:22). We are made to serve him, to love him, to be loved by him, and to be led by him – Ephesians 2:10. Because we are made by him, he put in each of us a homing device- that navigates us to him (Romans 1:19-20). But our natural disposition is hostility towards God and his ways, which is the sinful nature I talked about earlier, and it estranges us from God.
The good news is that God has a way for our spirits to be reunited with him so that we do not spend eternity away from him in condemnation with the devil in hell when we die physically. God sent his son, Jesus Christ- God in human form to reconcile us to him – John 3:16. How? Jesus was not born with our natural sinful. He was born instead with God’s spiritual nature, even though he was born as a man Luke 1:35. He was born and lived sinless because his nature was not hostile towards God.
Jesus was killed as a sacrifice for us and his death was acceptable before God because he was pure. All we have to do now is believe and accept him as our savior – be born again. This means our sinful nature becomes dead-( God makes it dead), and he gives us a new spirit nature. This nature is the only nature that God accepts – i.e. as it is not hostile to him. This new nature enables us to know God and to form a relationship with him
This nature is also the only guarantee we have that we will not spend eternity apart from God when we eventually die on this earth. My dear friend who is reading this, will you accept this great gift that God offers. God has made everything easy for us, and all we have to do is to believe and accept him. Trying to please God ourselves is impossible as our conscience always points to an area we fall short of (read the previous blog – Do I trust God?- – Quiet Time blog). But when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, he comes in and lovingly helps us to know God with the help of the Holy Spirit.
What are you waiting for? Will you make him lord of your life today? If so, repeat this prayer, “Dear God, I am a sinner, and I admit that I do things my way. Please forgive me, I believe in you, accept me into your family in Jesus’s name.
If you say this prayer sincerely and believe it in your heart – your inner being, you are born again and have become grafted into the family of almighty God. Welcome to the family. Please find a bible based church where you can fellowship and be discipled; your life will never be the same again. I would love to hear from you, so please be in touch. God bless.