Yesterday, I posted about having an unconditional love for others. After I posted that, I felt impressed to just keep going on down the list of the Fruit of the Spirit. These verses are very familiar to us, Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV), "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." So the next one on the list is...JOY.
The Greek Lexicon defines "joy" in these verses as: "gladness; to rejoice exceedingly, to be well, to thrive". As I read those synonyms, a thought ran through my mind. "How on earth can I have all those things when my situation seems bleak or I am going through a trial?!" Romans 15: 13 says, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing , that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." That is when the "lightbulb" came on. I am not going to have joy according to my deeds or my own doing. It has to come through believing in WHO He is...WHAT He is capable of doing...and that WHEN the time is right, He'll go a great work in your situation. That kind of powerful believing gives you the hope you need. AND, that joy comes also through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Colossians 1:9-12 says, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Joy also comes into our lives through prayer. I don't think that I can ever say it enough...We MUST take time every day to plug into that ultimate power source. Prayer is very important. One thing that I have learned over the years is that when I am faced with certain circumstances if I can just get into a mind set of praying for OTHERS first, then my needs are met. Pray for wisdom and spiritual understanding. Pray that you walk in a way that is pleasing to God. Pray that you can be fruitful...that your light can shine so brightly that others see your good works and glorify GOD. Always keep in mind...it ALL about HIM. Also, In this set of scriptures in Colossians I noticed that it also coupled joy with patience and longsuffering. All the Fruit of the Spirit work together. So, if you want joy...you must have the others also. And, to have joy in our lives, we must give thanks to God. Even when we don't feel like it. You see, when we begin to be thankful it creates a chain reaction in our spirit that leads to joy.
James 1:2-4 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." I'll tell you right now, this is not always so easy to do. BUT, think about it. When we go through various trials in life, God has a purpose and reason for each and every one. They will try or prove our faith. Which in turn will bring about patience...and patience is learning to endure things WITHOUT complaining. (Tough one to do, I know. But, it IS possible.) And when patience is completely working in our lives, we become complete and the opportunities for God to work in our lives will become endless.
And, 1 Peter 1:7-9 says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth , though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen , ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing , ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." In order for gold to be pure, it has to be put through the fire to burn out all the impurities. Our trials effect us much the same way...at least that is their purpose. But, sometimes, we get a mind set that they are more of hindrance and we don't allow them to purify us. If we can look at our trials as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block things would turn out differently. God has a reason and purpose for EVERYTHING that we face. When faced with a fiery trial, PRAY. It is quite simple really. We often make that molehill of a trial into a mountain. But, either way, trust that God has reason...and trust Him to lead you through it, over it or around it. It is that faith and trust in Him that brings Him praise, glory & honor. Look at it this way, we love Him even though we don't physically see Him. We believe that He is there so it becomes real to us. So, I'm coming back around to where I started...If we want joy in our lives, we must believe (trust & put our faith) in Him. Believe in the who, what and when. Then we will have an unspeakable joy. And to top it off, our faith will result in salvation for our souls. ♥
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