The fruit of the Spirit is…joy…. Galatians 5:22
Homes have kitchens. Kitchens have counters. And on many kitchen counters today stands a plastic container labeled Joy. If that’s not enough for you, there’s also Ultra Joy in lemon scent. What is in this container marked Joy? Dish detergent, of course, for that dreaded job of washing the dishes.
So why do we call dish soap, Joy? The answer should really be obvious. Joy is a word that makes us feel good. And when we are washing the dishes, we need all the good feelings we can get. One of the reasons why we like this word is that it reflects one of the basic desires of our hearts. We want to have joy. Or to put it as we usually do, we want to be happy.
Yet, it has become rather common for us not to expect much joy these days. Even for those of us who have accepted the gospel of Christ, joy is often a word used in hymns and sermons to describe a state of being that at times feels very foreign to us.
But this is not the way it is supposed to be. The scriptures are full of examples where God’s people had joy. Paul in the book of Romans states that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The whole book of Philippians is filled with expressions and challenges to Christian joy. Then in Galatians 5 we read that one of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
So what is this thing called joy and how to we experience more of it? Part of our problem in understanding the nature of joy is that we often confuse it with happiness. However, happiness is dependent on our circumstances or on what happens to us. If our circumstances are good, then we are happy. If not, then we aren’t so happy. But joy is a very different thing.
The word used for joy in Galatians is a derivative of the Greek word for grace. This tells us that joy is directly connected with our understanding of and appreciation for the grace we have received from God. Therefore, joy is a sense of well-being deep in our souls, because we know that we are right with God because of His grace and sustained everyday due to that same grace. When our hearts are full of grace, there is a lightness of soul, an inner gladness, and a cheerfulness. This is joy, and it stands above our circumstances whether good or bad. Why? Because we are benefactors of God’s grace regardless of what is happening from day to day.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Sure it does. So how to we experience more of this joy? I think the answer is found in what is called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John 17. In that prayer He not only prayed for His current disciples, but He also prayed for all of those who would come to faith by their apostolic witness. That includes us.
Notice what He prayed in verse 13. I am coming to you now,… so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. Wow! What a request! Jesus prayed that we would have the full measure of His joy. How? According to the rest of the prayer, our joy is directly tied to our unity with other believers and our apprehension of the fullness of God’s love for us.
Jesus put it this way in verses 22-23: I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Did you get that? As we experience more unity with other believers, we will be able to show more clearly that we are as loved by God as Jesus was.
Not only that, but Jesus closed his prayer in verse 26 with these words: I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.
If somehow we could grasp the significance of these truths, it would revolutionize our experience of joy. How could there be anything other than joy when we realize that we are fully and completely loved by God and that the very loving presence of Christ lives within us? Not only that, but when we allow that love to spill out of our souls onto our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we are brought to a unity of relationship that confounds the world. That’s when joy erupts from deep within.
So what do you do if you believe you are experiencing a substandard level of joy? I offer this.
- Abandon any notion that joy is tied to your circumstances. It never has been and never will be.
- Drink deeply from the well of God’s love for you. Remember, it’s not based on your efforts. It comes from His grace. Let that love fill you to overflowing.
- Let God’s love for you impact every relationship you have especially for your fellow believers.
Dish detergent may come in a bottle labeled Joy, but real joy come from the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. Let us be filled to overflowing with that kind of grace-based joy.