“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10)
Joy is one of the possessions that a Christian should necessarily possess. In John 16:24 the Bible says, “ask in my name and you shall receive that your joy may be full“. These words of Jesus state clearly that we should have joy in us and the Lord wants to fill us with joy by answering our supplication. Dear believers in Christ, Jesus not only came to the world for salvation but also to fill us with His joy. (John 17:13)
Every Christian knows that salvation is a free gift. Similarly there are other God’s free gifts to humanity like baptism of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. Now talking about the fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22), we should not forget to notice ‘Joy’ which is also one among them. If the joy of the Lord is our strength, it is something we need and very essential. In the letter to the Corinthians Apostle Paul states, “we are helpers of your joy”(II Cor 1:24). Here it is clear that every believer in the Lord should possess joy and should also help other believers to get strengthened in their joy.
Beloved people in Christ, if joy had already been given by Jesus, Why should we be joyless? There may be property destruction, afflictions or passing away of the dearest ones we love. But this does not suppress our joy in the Lord. Apostle Paul gives a beautiful description in Acts 20:23,24 and sets his life as an example of this experience. Dear children of God we should all finish our course with joy in the midst of all our troubles. Feeling joyous and praising God in sorrows is the experience of a true Christian. Concerning the people of the world, their source of joy is on worldly pleasures and worldly properties but ours lie in knowing Jesus and obeying His commandments.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, our God fills us with the heart of joy in any situation. Don’t we have to rejoice in Him in joy? The scripture says in Psalms 2:11, “rejoice with trembling”. Joy is nothing different, it is emotions and a part of the Life of Praise (Psa 27:6). David says, ‘I will offer sacrifices of joy and sing praises’. Therefore Joy of the Lord should never depart from a Christian and should be with him to offer praises.
“REJOICE IN THE LORD, O YE RIGHTEOUS: FOR PRAISE IS COMELY FOR THE UPRIGHT” (PSA 33:1)
