Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. As we develop our relationship with the Holy Spirit by interacting with Him and letting Him take control, we can expect joy. We can expect all the fruit of the Spirit and joy is definitely part of it. The joy of the Lord is our strength the Bible tells us. Joy is underrated in some Christian circles and in other ones it is evident and powerfully displayed. I remember when I was a young Christian and the joy of the people in the house of God bothered me. It made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t understand it and I thought it was fake. Those joyful people had something I didn’t have and it puzzled me. Why were they so joyful every Sunday? Did they all have a great week and celebrated it on Sunday? Did they have the same joy during the week? I became friends with some of them. There was a lady named Mireille. I quickly found out that the joy of the Lord was present in her life even during the week. Her secret was her fellowship with the Holy Spirit. She prayed and praised a lot. She talked about the Holy Spirit as if He were her best friend and because of that connection she adored Jesus. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, always points at Jesus and helps us get close to Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit in her life was blooming and beautifully presented. She was kind, loving, patient, full of hope and joyful. She laughed a lot when I saw her with her friends. I loved to laugh but I didn’t laugh enough.
When problems arise, when they chase you down and they don’t leave you alone, it’s hard to laugh. It’s hard to be joyful and to tap into the power of the joy of the Lord. However, we can have joy in the middle of our chaos. We can have joy when life gives us reasons to cry. We can laugh in the middle of trials and tribulations. God’s joy doesn’t rely on our circumstances. It relies on the Lord. It relies on who He is. It relies on the Word of God. It relies on our connection with the Lord. The last time I found myself miserable while dealing with some issues, the Lord told me, “You will laugh again.” I heard it when I was praying and it put a smile on my face. My mind was telling me that all was lost and there was nothing that could be done about my situation. That made me sad. I didn’t smile for a while until the Lord told me that I would laugh again. He showed me that His joy was still here and that I could tap into it. I got into praise mode. I praised Him through that storm. I got myself back to the platform of joy and everything looked amazing from there. Joy is in our spiritual DNA. We need to be reminded who we are in Christ and what runs in our blood. The blood of Jesus covers us and we have the fruit of the Spirit in our spirit. Joy brings laughter. Laughter brings more strength and power to deal with the enemy. When you are joyful and you laugh, nothing looks bad. Your worst situation looks more than manageable. You get on the same page as the Lord’s.
We tend to think that the fruit of the Spirit is only good for certain seasons. We see it as a ripe and delicious fruit for some time and when we are hit by a storm we put the fruit away. We remove it from its tree so to speak and we let it wilt and go bad. The fruit of the Spirit is always in season. The joy of the Lord is for every season. It is good all the time. Now, it’s up to us to cultivate it and to keep it fresh all the time. Singing, praising, worshiping keep the fruit nice and ripe. Communion with the Lord and trusting the Lord keep the fruit growing. My encouragement to you today is that you keep praising the Lord even through the hardest seasons. Let the fruit of His Spirit be present in your life daily. You will laugh again. You will laugh all the time. When something bad happens, you will laugh. You will laugh because you will know without the shadow of a doubt that God is with you and He has you in the palm of His hand. You will enjoy the joy of the Lord and you will laugh. Friend, I don’t know what’s going on in your life today but let me remind you that you will laugh again. God will have the final say. Stay strong and keep your eyes on the Lord. Thank Him for the fruit of the Spirit and keep the fruit fresh. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: John 16:5; Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:12-17
Words of hope for today 