Encouragement
Six part series on focusing on the fruit of the spirit!
By Sandra Cowan
‘Walking, talking, living fruit! - Part 2a –Joy!
Impacting our environment through supernatural character!
In the series titled ‘Walking, Talking, Living Fruit’ Sandra Cowan observes and writes wholeheartedly about the 9 components of the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, patience, faith and temperance, by which Christ demonstrated that we shall be marked and recognised as the people of God, and Jesus Christ himself will be represented and be a living witness through his people to the whole world.
Introduction
If you or I were asked to describe what brings you great joy in life most of us would probably be able to list perfectly normal human experiences that bring delight such as a husband and dad being able to provide for his family, the person who finds great fulfilment in their chosen occupation, the mother who enjoys watching her family tuck into a home cooked hearty supper, grandchildren playing in the backyard, a fiancés smile after receiving a gift, musing over fine art, the birth of a new baby, the intimacy of marriage, working for yourself, writing a letter to a friend, presenting a child with a shiny new car for his coming of age birthday, paying the bills on time, being debt free, shopping at the mall – everyday!, learning something new, giving to charity, relaxing in solitude, taking a hot bath, volunteering, singing in the shower, camping out under the stars or simply lying on a beach. The list is endless, and as lengthy as there are people the length and breadth of the earth.
And in essence these things are fine and a natural expression of our lifestyle that is certainly requisite, in order for us to live an interesting and satisfying existence. Moreover, there are numerous inventions that make our lives extremely pleasurable and seemingly more bearable in our living realities. For those who are able, cast your mind back to when Scotsman John Baird Logies’s pioneering invention, yes the black and white television, was all the rage in every living room worth its’ salt. It was goodbye to the old faithful wireless, well at least in part, who could live without the Archers? and hello to its new hip sister. Those that experienced the joys of moving pictures inside the home could hardly believe so much enjoyment could be derived form a small box. However hot on its heels was the colour TV and soon enough the monotone box was made redundant and the new colour version began to emerge as the cool new vehicle of entertainment. As people cottoned on to this flush experience and finances permitted, (colour TV’s were a small fortune back in the 1970’s) it became a gradual revolution that was to transform analogue derived leisure forever. Indeed, with the fairly recent emergence of Digital technology and its binary 1s and 0s technology we continue to gleam with joy as consumers, receiving the latest elucidate flat screen televisions and relative peripherals.
Now, whether or not the programmes that many of the TV channels actually produce have improved content wise, and bring us, the end user, a genuine and authentic joyful experience into our living rooms, is another question altogether. (And make no mistake, Gods view of the media and its position of influence and programming responsibility towards the masses is an extremely important subject matter that we can all learn from). But what is apparent and parallel in truth is that life is greatly enriched when we are able to derive joy from a variety of activity and stimuli that is both colourful and inspirational.
But what does the Bible teach us about joy? Is joy simply about being smiley happy people? Or is there a more profound meaning, understanding and application? Are we called to be joyful even in times of great sadness and distress or is joy subjective. Can Christians get by on joy that is ‘subject to change’ much like the weather patterns, indeed the wind blows wherever it pleases? and are we called to exude joy from every fibre of our being continuously, come rain or shine? . As we examine and seek to understand the Joy of the kingdom Heaven we shall find out that the Joy from above is without a doubt supernatural and the only kind that is able to withstand the emotive rollercoaster of individual human experience.
Salvation and Joy
The Joy that the word of God speaks about actually has nothing to do with the materialism of our society, neither the external activity that we participate in that makes us glow from the inside, but rather these things can and do enhance our lives.
Biblical Joy is intrinsically linked to our salvation. Biblical joy is directly linked to the unchanging character of Yahweh God. Without receiving Christ as saviour it is impossible for any of us to experience Joy as God intended us to. That is why King David was able to write after transgressing, “…restore unto me the Joy of my Salvation” Psalm 51:12. With that in mind, and as our point of reference, in order to understand Joy let us go back to basics and underpin the meaning of salvation.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 1 verse 21 tells us that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and proclaimed that Jesus will come to save his people from their sins. To emphasis the point even more the actual name of Jesus is a derivative from Joshua which means “Jehovah my Salvation”. The Spiros Zodhiates Hebrew - Greek key study Bible tells us that the word for ‘save’ is Sozo and is two fold in meaning. Primarily, Sozo is the spiritual definition of deliverance from sin, that is, spiritual and eternal salvation granted immediately by those who believe on Christ. The Bible tells us we are all born and shaped in iniquity and sin (Psalm 51:5) and that there is none righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10). It is only when we receive Christ as saviour into our lives that we then become the righteousness of God. It means, that by grace, you are saved by faith. So in order to be saved we must do so by faith, which in itself is also a gift from God!
Our salvation then, once we realise the magnitude of what has actually taken place, is an event that ought to bring us great and lasting joy. The Bible refers to it as everlasting joy (Isaiah 35:10). Assuredly, Sozo also means deliverance from destruction, deliverance from danger, and a rescuing from great peril. Sozo, the salvation of the Lord, is a very present help in time of need.
So, the Joy that we receive in Salvation is derived from the fact that we are now on a journey that will produce the benefits of salvation (Psalm 103), throughout a lifetime on this physical earth and into eternity. Subsequently, when we begin to look at the return of saying yes Lord to your will and to your way, even if we were not aware initially of the ‘perks’ of our position, We were called by his love, which was enough. And that alone should be enough to be joyful for. However and furthermore, once we begin to study God’s word we soon realise that not only are we saved unto eternity (and again I reiterate, not by anything we accomplish but what we receive, for salvation is a gift), there is a great deal to rejoice about. Joy then becomes a natural or truly supernatural expression of being saved. It’s almost like being part of an exclusive alliance that has revealed some divine truth. The joy becomes intrinsically auspicious and from the inside out.
Upon Salvation, understanding of the human existence as it were, is unravelled and the mystery that man has been in angst over for centuries is solved simply by just saying yes Lord. So you see that Christian smile is no longer a mask but a genuine ‘knowing’ that Jesus is the greatest CEO ever to walk this planet, and his directive can not fail even in difficult times because it is backed up by ‘Head Office’ – The Kingdom heaven and is assisted on earth by the Greatest Human resource ever Given, The Holy Spirit whom the bible says is given to us as a helper in time of need. It is surely the greatest revelation of Joy and what it really means to have Joy. Truly, as the popular Christian hymn by prolific blind hymnist Fanny Crosby proclaims, “Blessed assurance JESUS is mine”.
Steadfast in Joy
God has put a great deal of emphasis on Joy and is second only to Love in the text about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22. And when we look into it further it is plain to see why. Before we accepted Christ as saviour, our joy was temperamental and largely based on our life experiences and disposition. To say we felt a natural high when things were on the ascent or maintained a steady plateau is an understatement. But what is one to do when thing’s are not going so well? To whom or what does the non believer reach out to and find joy in times of testing. Even as Believers, Joy, as with all the fruit of the spirit, is not instantaneous but is part of our spirituality that must be feed and cultivated, principally by the word of God, (which is why it is crucial for believers to stay connected to their bibles and not only read but meditate on the word and pray the word) so that we can be full on heavens bread of life, which is the instruction, teaching, poetry and most importantly the promises of God. This is how joy is received, developed and maintained. If you enter into this Joy it will not fail, it will not fade, and it will not be fake. It will see you through good times and bad, it will be with you in the desert places, the lonely places as well as in the land of milk and honey. It will be with you when you are overwhelmed, through trial and tribulation, through persecution and through pain. In his book’ Making sense out of suffering’ Peter Kreeft states that;
“Joy is not a feeling in us. Joy does not enter us. We enter into joy: ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord’ (Matthew 25:21)”
So just as we didn’t find God but God found us, equally we do not find Joy but rather in our quest to be fruitful as we seek God and his abundance of goodness we, by default, we enter into his presence where there is Fullness of Joy (John 15:11)
Count it all Joy
‘Be happy. It’s one way of being wise’ - Colette
James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptation knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience…v3. If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth (hold back) not; and it shall be given unto him.
What an interesting and powerful passage of scripture. The author James, who was the oldest half brother of Jesus, so we can assume his wisdom, of which the book of James is known for, is the genuine article, as it is both spiritually and literally inspired by the life of Jesus himself. James tells us to rejoice when we are induced to fall, which denotes being tripped up, because it will help to build our patience in Christ. Amazingly, he doesn’t tell us to put on sackcloth and mourn each time we genuinely miss the mark or suffer but to rather rejoice in the lord. He further goes on to explain to us that if we are unsure how to go about this we are to ask God for wisdom, he’ll show us how to rejoice in the face of tests and temptation. God knew your life story before you were called to his glory. So it makes perfect sense to rejoice because he has already destroyed the yoke of bondage for each and every one of his children in their down sitting and place of failure. Such is the Power of Kingdom born Joy!
In the words of the Prophet Nehemiah who describes this heavenly truth succinctly when he states;
“The Joy of the Lord IS your STRENGTH” (Nehemiah chapter 8 v 10 KJV)
Joy is yours Today!
So the charge to all of us is how can we say we have the Joy of the Lord in our lives when we walk around looking glum and miserable 90 per cent of the time. How can our cups run over so that even when in you and I’s presence the unbeliever can detect there is an unexplainable Joyfulness about this Christian. (It has often been noted by unbelievers that people who are mature in Christ often are annoyingly happy and chirpy – all of the time! Smile…) A Christian infact, ought to exude joy even when they are not smiling. It should be the very presence of joy that people notice in our company. Nobody wants to be a parody of a laughing face for sure, Yet, does a constant frown reflect the joy of God in our lives, yet how many of us walk around everyday, all the time, good times and bad, with a tart look on our face that would make even the most hardcore of personality’s look twice. Think about it!
Let us not leave it another day, to embrace the Joy of the Lord, it is freely given to those who freely ask. Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find. The bible tells us that he will not withhold any good gift from us, and to be able to rejoice in whatever circumstances situation or disposition we find ourselves in is almost certainly the best gift anyone of us could receive from our loving heavenly father. And the very best gift we could give to a spiritually dying world, of which some may just decide to enquire about receiving ‘that’ which you have. Go ahead rejoice in HE who has made you glad, you just may inspire somebody to enter into the Joy of the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!
References
The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible, King James Version. Red Letter Edition. Editor, Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D, AMG Publishers.
Kreeft, Peter. Making sense out of suffering.. 1986: Servant Ministries. ISBN: 0892832193
Recommended Reading: ‘How to have real Joy’ by Charles H Spurgeon, Publisher
Whitaker House, Paper back ISBN: 0883686627
Sandra Cowan BA, (Copyright 2006) Not to be republished without authors consent.
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