JOY
30th Jan 2019
Being happy comes from ‘happenings’; if the things around you are going well you are happy, if they are disappointing and difficult you are miserable! Joy is totally different, it is not dependant on circumstances, it is a supernatural impartation from heaven.
Jesus discerned that His disciples were becoming sad and discouraged as they listened to Him tell them of what was to happen, as He was about to go to the cross. He recognised this and declared, “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:22)
Jesus also sees that the disciples have not grasped the revelation that “joy” comes as we reach out to our Father and receive His miraculous provision, He continues to tell His followers, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.” (verse 24).
In John 17 this same dynamic of joy is being prayed by Jesus, “I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they (my disciples) may have the full measure of my joy within them.” (verse 24)
This in no way denies the fact that life is challenging and many are going through difficult times, but as believers we have secret resources that are not available to those who do not have a living faith in Jesus. We often quote from Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Also from Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” But we need to live in the good of it every day.
Joy, which is a characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit, is your birthright as a child of God. Do not allow the enemy to rob you of this joy. If you have allowed things around you to drag you down, pour out your heart to the Lord, tell Him everything, He is the burden bearer, and as you release these things to Him, He will enter with His gift of joy.
by Charles Sibthorpe
