Part 3 – “Joy”

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, . . . “

I can remember feeling that the only way I would ever be able to feel joy again was if my daughter turned her life around. Her behavior, which included drug use and dancing in a strip club, was sapping the joy right out of my life. Although I had other kids, a husband who loved me, a great job and lots of other things in my life that should have given me joy, I had lost my ability to laugh or even feel anything that resembled happiness. Rather than joy, I was filled with anxiety and fear, and I was stuck in a place of despair.

At some point I realized that I had a choice. I could be a perpetual victim of the circumstances with my daughter, or I could believe the promises of God and seek the joy that can only be found in Him. I chose to pursue Jesus and as I grew to know Him and I did my best to follow Him, guess what happened! I began to experience joy. Nothing had changed with my daughter, but I was changing. As I grew in my faith and trusted Jesus more and more, the Fruit of the Spirit, of which joy is one of the attributes, began to manifest in me. It didn’t happen overnight, and I’m still learning and growing, but it is a steady transformation that only happens when we are staying close to the Lord.

Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, joy is mentioned repeatedly, and it is always related to God and never related to circumstances. In Nehemiah 12:43 is says, “And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy.” And in Psalm 5:11 we read, “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”

The secret to the joy mentioned as part of the Fruit of the Spirit is that it is found only in God. It is not found in other people or in our circumstances. It is available to everyone, but we must faithfully seek Him all day long and in everything that we do. If we earnestly seek Him, even amid our sorrow over our children, we will begin to realize the kind of joy that the Bible talks about. That means we must take our focus off our children and put it on the Lord.

In Psalm 16:11 it says, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

As we approach Christmas this year let us allow God to fill us with joy by seeking His presence throughout each day. It is an amazing gift to experience joy regardless of our circumstances and it is available to all of us.

by Cathy Taylor