Galatians 5:22-23 New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Today, I want to discuss the second component of the fruit of the Holy Spirit referred to as "joy". This is an important aspect of the fruit. Joy is our source of strength according to Nehemiah 8:10. What an awesome strength we can receive from the Lord our God through operating in joy.
Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word hedonism, the philosophy of self-centered pleasure-seeking. Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). Self-produced happiness is momentary and never ever lasts.
When we are in a right relationship with God, loving, trusting, and depending on Him and HIs mercies we are filled with a joy that has its roots in eternity. This is not an emotional "feeling" that can fade away with a simple turn of events. Instead, the joy of the Lord is a condition that places us in a position to see things from a heavenly perspective. The word of God tells us that we are seated in heavenly places far above this world. From the perspective of happiness, life can look like a tattered mess because we see things from underneath the circumstance. When we live in the Spirit, we can see that what seems tattered to the rest of humanity is a beautiful tapestry with God's design and purpose to it.
This component of the fruit of the Spirit allows us to be set apart from those who are walking in temporary fulfillment and allows us to praise the Lord in all things and for all things, even when we don't understand it. While the world asks "Why?" we can continue to serve Him knowing He cause all things to work together for our good. What an awesome and life-changing walk this produces. As we abide in Him the life of God flows through us and joy is contagious. It gets on everyone we come in contact with and impacts their lives for the glory of God.
Don't settle for mere "happiness", instead, go for the gold standard of God-JOY!!
Today, I want to discuss the second component of the fruit of the Holy Spirit referred to as "joy". This is an important aspect of the fruit. Joy is our source of strength according to Nehemiah 8:10. What an awesome strength we can receive from the Lord our God through operating in joy.
Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word hedonism, the philosophy of self-centered pleasure-seeking. Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). Self-produced happiness is momentary and never ever lasts.
When we are in a right relationship with God, loving, trusting, and depending on Him and HIs mercies we are filled with a joy that has its roots in eternity. This is not an emotional "feeling" that can fade away with a simple turn of events. Instead, the joy of the Lord is a condition that places us in a position to see things from a heavenly perspective. The word of God tells us that we are seated in heavenly places far above this world. From the perspective of happiness, life can look like a tattered mess because we see things from underneath the circumstance. When we live in the Spirit, we can see that what seems tattered to the rest of humanity is a beautiful tapestry with God's design and purpose to it.
This component of the fruit of the Spirit allows us to be set apart from those who are walking in temporary fulfillment and allows us to praise the Lord in all things and for all things, even when we don't understand it. While the world asks "Why?" we can continue to serve Him knowing He cause all things to work together for our good. What an awesome and life-changing walk this produces. As we abide in Him the life of God flows through us and joy is contagious. It gets on everyone we come in contact with and impacts their lives for the glory of God.
Don't settle for mere "happiness", instead, go for the gold standard of God-JOY!!
No comments:
Post a Comment