Beyond knowing there was a difference between happiness and joy, happiness being circumstantial and joy being a fruit of the Spirit, I never really gave it much thought. But Sunday’s sermon was on the only passage in the Bible that shows Jesus having joy and I have been chewing on that all week.
Joy is actually an attribute of God, right along with holiness and omniscience. Just like self-control, joy is a gift we are given. And it is rooted in our salvation, which makes it ours forever.
Joy comes when we are full of the Holy Spirit and daily walking with the Lord. It is a result of our faith, making our faith visible to those around us. It can be our most powerful testimony- one that does not need words.
It occurred to me where there is joy there is praise to God. I don’t think those two things can be separated. Praising the Lord comes from a heart of full of joy and a joyful heart will overflow with praise to the Lord. Interestingly enough, the one time Jesus is recorded having joy, it is of him praising God for who He is, His plan and his role in His plan.
That is only part of Jesus’ prayer and it is in response to the amazing things that happened while the seventy-two appointed men were out teaching and preaching the gospel.
Jesus tells them not to find joy in their power, but in the fact that their names are written in heaven. That right there is the spring from where our joy flows.
