Did you know that the Bible uses the term joy over 500 times? As well as words such as ‘joy’, ‘rejoice’, ‘be glad’, ‘be merry’, and ‘delight’, it totals up to an exact amount of 826 times! Wow!
In 2 Timothy, chapter three verses sixteen and seventeen, it says:"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."If all scripture is God-breathed, and God tells us to do something 826 times then I think we’d better pay attention!
But what exactly is joy? To my mind, joy and happiness are closely connected. Joy is a Christians’ expression of happiness, although happiness is more based on the emotions of the circumstance than your inner spirit. Joy is the assurance, hope and love of Jesus Christ grinning right through us!
Psalm 118:24I once read a fictitious story with one of the characters being a teacher, called Damarius Drybread. As a Christian, she was stern and strict and believed that all Christians should be sober and solemn. Damarius Drybread didn’t know what she was missing out on!
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!"
In Zephaniah 3:14-15, he proclaimed:
"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more."
You know, we too can rejoice with all our hearts, because that’s what Jesus did for us! He took away God’s judgment and wrath from us, anointed us with his Holy Spirit, and freely gave us the inheritance of heaven, where there will be no more evil! Isn’t that something to help us smile through those tough times?
As Christians, God wants the fruit of the spirit, joy to be in our lives. Why? Because ‘the joy of the LORD is your strength’, ‘a happy heart gives healing’, ‘For ye are our glory and joy.’. Because Jesus is coming back again; because Jesus is alive; because we will see Jesus again. We have joy when we are faithful with what God has given us, when we do God’s will, and when we ask God in faith. I once read that “the world gives us thousands of reasons to cry, but Jesus has given me a million reasons to smile”. It’s true – God has given each of us thousands upon thousands of reasons to rejoice in him – even in the tough times, because we know that he ‘holds the future’ and that the ‘joy will come in the morning!’
Philippians 4:4When my sister was but six months old, she had a tumor, which resulted in having one of her kidneys removed. Throughout the years the scar tissue has grown giving her many excruciatingly painful tummy aches. Through it all though, Mum and Dad have taught Nomi to remember God’s faithfulness. We strongly believe that God was right there with Nomi as a baby, performing miracle after miracle. Although the actual pain and surgery wasn’t something to rejoice about, we can find a lot of things to praise God for – namely, that He doesn’t leave my sisters side through all her pain! Again and again I hear that when we stop focusing on the problem and start looking at the Lord – and not the little God of our normal understanding either, but the great BIG awesome Jehovah – it all falls into perspective and we can praise God through the good and the bad, knowing that He’s still sitting on His mighty throne. In other words, we don’t praise God for the bad things, but we can praise God for being faithful.
"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice!"
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
Mathew 2:10One of my absolute favourite songs is Because He Lives! The chorus goes as follows:
"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
Because He livesSo today, I’d like to encourage you that Christians are supposed to be joyful people because of what Jesus did for us, regardless of the circumstance;
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the livin’
Just because He lives!
Romans 14:17
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Miss Jessica is a 14year old homeschool girl who lives in Australia. She loves the Lord and enjoys music, reading, history, computers and sewing. Jessica has a warped sense of humour and is always ready for a giggle. She helps her mum around the home and participates in the local church music team. You can find out more about Jess at her blog Little Miss Giggle.
Gifts of JOY
by Lady Rachel
It is a JOY to go outside in Spring,
To see the lovely birds that sing,
Of their wonderful Maker above,
Who is looking down in love.
To see the flowers all a-bloom,
It is a JOY for me,
And to see the birds all a-swoon,
Oh! It is a JOY to see.
It is such a JOY to be a Child of the Father!
I know I have a loving Friend,
That will go with me all the farther,
All the way to the end.
It's the best time in the year,
When I know that my Saviour died,
So that I could be so near
And close in the years to come by His side.
A JOY is it for me to know
That I can, anytime I need,
A Friend is near that can bestow
The Gift of JOY in ev'ry good deed.
What could I want more,
Than for my Friend to be here,
Even when I get sore,
Who always wants to wants to lend an ear.
Spring reminds me of new Life,
Summer the sounds of Laughter,
Fall reminds me to let fall the strife,
And Winter, the happily ever after.
I see the things that the Maker made.
I praise Him for it everyday,
I love to remember what He said,
I think of it and give Him a thankful prayer.
Thank You, Lord, for the JOYS You give,
They are all tokens of Your love for me.
There is little more that I can give
Than to accept the free gifts You've given me.
