All Christians have the capacity to express the joy of the Lord in their life. We can have joy even when conditions for happiness don’t exist because joy, unlike happiness, is not dependent upon your circumstances.
Joy is one of the attributes of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That means joy comes about through walking in the Spirit. For it is only when we walk according to the Spirit that we can bear fruit of the same.
When Christians express the joy of the Lord in their life, they mystify unbelievers. They can’t understand our ability to rejoice when our circumstances say we should be saddened.
Some believers fail to allow the joy of the Lord to characterize their life. For the manifestation of this joy is not incidental to being a Christian. Rather, we must choose to express joy amid adversity. If we allow our flesh and human emotions to dictate our response to trying times, joy will not be the result.
“The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength”
After the Jews returned from exile, Ezra the scribe came to read the Law to them. It was the people’s departure from the Word of God that had occasioned their captivity. It was also God’s Word that they needed to help them reconnect with God upon their return.
The people began to mourn and weep as Ezra read the Word to them. Perhaps they felt a sense of remorse as they heard the Word. But Nehemiah responded, “Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, KJV).
We do well to heed these words of Nehemiah. We will all know adversity and perhaps tragedy in this life. Strangely enough, during those times, we are admonished to “count it all joy” (James 1:1, NASB). Why? Because when we choose the joy of the Lord over dejection, it strengthens us.
We can respond this way because Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
We Can Sing the Lord’s Song in a “Strange Land”
Imagine what it must have felt like for the Jews to be led in captivity and taken to a strange land. They were separated from the house of God and their customs. The natives were serving idols for gods.
The psalmist gives us a glimpse into the broken spirit of the Jews during their captivity. He writes, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept, when we remembered Zion.” (Psalm 137:1, KJV). Moreover, the captors made a mockery of the people’s captivity:
“For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
(Psalm 137:3, KJV)
But the Jews couldn’t sing under those circumstances. “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” they asked (verse 4).
The truth is that all of us can find ourselves in a “strange land.” This strange land may not be a physical place. It can be a place in life where we have never been before. Or a dilemma we have never experienced, and we have no bank of experience to draw from to deal with it.
But I submit that through the joy of the Lord, indwelling us through the Holy Spirit, we can sing the Lord’s song in our strange land. Remember that this joy is not dependent upon your circumstances.
We Can “Rejoice in the Lord Always”
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, KJV).
Paul the apostle wrote these words to the church at Philippi. Note the word always. Based upon what Paul writes here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can rejoice in the Lord always. That is, if we are in the Lord—that is, in Christ.
We may not express joy every time life goes south on us, but we can, according to the words of Paul.
What makes his words so extraordinary are the conditions under which he penned them. He was actually in prison at the time of his writing. Imagine that; a prisoner writing to those who are free, admonishing them to rejoice in the Lord always! What an incredible testimony of the power of joy.
How do you respond to disappointments and trials in your life? Do you become bitter with God? Withdraw from church or friends? Indulge in comfort foods and Netflix?
If that’s you and you are a Christian, that is not the will of God for your life. It’s time for you to unleash the joy of the Lord in your life. It will be your strength when your soul wants to weep. Through it, you can sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. And you can rejoice in the Lord always.
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.