Be Full of Joy... what now?

I’ve been doing some thinking and Biblical study lately on the meaning and purpose of having Godly joy in our lives.  The word “joy” appears 63 times in the King James Version of the New Testament.  The vast majority of the uses of the word are the Greek word “chara” with the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries number of 5479.  Strong’s defines it as “cheerfulness, calm delight,” While Thayer’s describes it simply as “gladness,” or “the cause or occasion of joy.”

So, what’s the big deal about “joy” in the life of a Christian?  Well, Peter seemed to connect being an active Believer with the attitude of joy when he told his readers in 1Peter 1:8 “yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  (KJV)  The angel Gabriel made it pretty clear that the coming of Jesus and His gospel message was something for everyone to be joyful about when he told Mary, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11 KJV)

Jesus Himself talked about joy like it was not only an important characteristic for His followers to have, but something that would set them apart from the world in His absence.  He talked about having His joy being fulfilled in them when He prayed to the Father in the garden before His crucifixion saying, “When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You have given Me I guarded; and not one of them is lost except the son of perdition, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:12-13 EMTV)

He clarified that the reasons He taught His disciples was so that His joy would be a part of who they were, He declared: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 EMTV)  And the list goes on and on as all the writers of both the Old and New Testaments talk about the importance of joy in the life of the Israelites who obeyed the Law and then after Christ came, in the sons and daughters of God Almighty.

To me, one of the mightiest and most powerful and encouraging testimonies in the whole Bible is given by the Apostle Paul in the letter written from jail and his impending death to the Philippian church.  Biblical Scholar Finis Dake, describes Philippians as “The joy of Christian grace and experience in all of life and death.”  He then continues in the book comments section of his popular Bible translation “The Dake Annotated Reference Bible” stating that Paul “mentions ‘joy’ 14 times in the epistle. The key word is ‘rejoice.’ Christians are to rejoice in fellowship with one another; in afflictions of the gospel; in the ministry for saints, in faithfulness of ministers; in the Lord and not in Judaism or in the flesh; in unity, and always in all things.

I think that I might have had a revelation as I was studying some of this yesterday afternoon.  I have often times made the statement that one of the most outstanding lessons that Piper and I learned as we stood for her healing over the extended period of time of eleven plus years, was the importance of building and protecting our faith in order to guard our joy.  But you know… after some preliminary study on the importance of joy, I think that I may have had that truth backwards…  As I now read about faith in the New Testament, I am beginning to understand that Christians need first to build and protect their joy in order to guard their faith.

In our experience, it was our abounding joy in the face of the doubt and unbelief, the sad looks and depression of some that greeted us almost every time we walked out the door, and the discussions of medical science concerning the disease that plagued my wife, that greatly helped to keep us focused on what we believed… and I still do… to be the ultimate truth of God’s Word! (See: John 17:17, Psalm 119:160, Ephesians 4:21 and a whole host of other scriptures)  And where does faith come from… Your right, “by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 KJV)

I recently read that “The second greatest thing that comes to us in the New Birth is joy (the first being the love nature of God).  This is something that makes trouble lose its grip upon us; makes poverty lose its terror.  It is the joy of the Lord.  And you remember that He said, ‘The joy of the lord shall be your strength.’  That was a prophecy.  Now Jesus said, ‘My joy I give unto you.’” (In His Presence, E.W Kenyon pgs 191-192)

I’m not sure how you reacted when you read that statement, but it definitely made me stand up and shout!  I’ll be sharing more about the importance of joy in coming posts as well as some of the harmful effects of a lack of joy that we saw demonstrated as we walked along the daily path of our journey. 

I am also seeing how important it is for me to stay in joy (no matter what!) as I painfully go through the events of the last month and begin to focus in on my future.  Hummm… this could be exciting after all!

Have a great new week, and as you do, keep declaring with me… “How am I expecting to keep His joy at the top of my priorities today?”