The Fruit of Joy
🎶 Joy, this is the joy of the Lord 🎶 - “Joy of the Lord” by Maverick City Music
This song came into our minds as we go into the second fruit of the Spirit which is joy. This lyric made us ask the question: What does it mean to have the joy of the LORD? It may seem like a simple question, but as we looked into this, we noticed joy is defined several ways in the Bible: joy is strength (Nehemiah 8:10), joy is hope (Romans 15:13), joy is rejoicing (Psalms 5:11), and joy is inexpressible (1 Peter 1:8). With the various ways to define joy, how can we make sure to not confuse happiness with joy? Some people say happiness can be found in anything (a friend, family, pet, food, or other earthy materials), but the Bible says that joy is a promise that is given to us.
Promise 1: We can receive joy by asking.
John 16:24 - Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Promise 2: With joy, there is fullness.
Psalms 16:11 - …In Your presence is fullness of joy
Promise 3: We will receive joy no matter how hard or tough a situation may be.
Psalms 126:5 - Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psalms 30:5 - …Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Happiness may only last for a moment, but joy is everlasting!
Jourdan’s Definition:
According to the dictionary, joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
While I do not entirely disagree with this, I do think there is something missing. And I believe the answer lies in 1 Thessalonians 5:16:
Always be joyful.
-1 Thessalonians 5:16
I propose a revised definition of joy: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness in all circumstances. We often only experience joy when times are “good.” It is easy to be joyful when we are healthy and life goes as planned. But we are called to have joy always. Our joy should not depend on the goodness of our circumstances. Rather, our joy should depend on the goodness of God, which never fails (Joshua 21:45).
The opposite of joy is sometimes considered to be trial or tribulation. But James 1:2-4 tells us otherwise; that joy and tribulation are not mutually exclusive.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
-James 1:2-4
I do not know about you, but it is hard for me to feel joyful when I am faced with hardship, especially when it is one thing after another. It can even feel unnatural or inappropriate to be happy in “bad” situations, but try to think of joy as trusting in God instead of being happy. After all, joy is not an emotion; joy is a state of being. Joy does not ignore or eliminate hardship (life is hard!), but it allows us to take comfort in the fact that God is with us, even in the “bad” times, and that every Earthly moment is impermanent. The phrase “This too shall pass” comes to mind. Am I the only one who thought this saying came from scripture? Well, spoiler alert: it is not actually in the Bible! It is an old Persian adage. The Bible does have a similar adage though, and it can be found in 2 Corinthians:
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
-2 Corinthians 4:17-18
I find this verse comforting; it is like saying there is light at the end of the tunnel. This verse also gives us clear instruction on how to do something that sometimes seems impossible. It tells us that the way to be joyful in all circumstances is to fix our eyes on God.
Nohemi’s Definition:
Someone once told me that my name Nohemi meant - Joy. I wasn’t sure if that was true so I went to google for answers. I saw that the main word used to define my name is delight. Delight is similar to joy or happiness so I think it’s fair to use Joy to define the name Nohemi 😊 . With that being said, Joy is actually my core fruit (not just because it’s in my name).
As a teen I had a tough time overcoming fear due to a scary experience that I saw happen to a friend of mine. It was very crippling, but what got me though that moment was Joy. I didn’t notice Joy during that time and honestly it’s being relived to me now that it was Joy in the Lord that helped me to overcome. When that fear would creep in, there were times that I felt like fear won. I would cry because I felt so overwhelmed and sad that I couldn’t shake off the fear/anxiety that would consume me. All I could do was to pray and to worship in order to overcome that fear.
So Joy to me means hope despite what is going on - seeing the glass half full, not empty. I noticed during that time that God was my strength despite it all and I had hope that he would help me through that fear even if it never went away. I can say that Joy won in the end because that fear did go away. Even now when I feel fear or anxiety try to creep in, I am thankful that I have the Joy of the Lord - the hope I have in Him.
Core Fruit:
While we are called to display all nine fruit of the Spirit, we believe each of us has a fruit that is at the core of our being. It is the fruit that we display most often, the one that defines our personality, or the one that comes easiest. As promised in the introduction of this series, we want to help you identify your “core fruit.” We felt inspired by the idea behind the 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Just like knowing your love language can strengthen your relationships, so can knowing your own “core fruit.” We believe leading with the fruit of the Spirit helps us to relate better to God, and in turn others.
Your “core fruit” might be joy if:
-You tend to be an optimist
-You are spontaneous
-You can always see a silver lining
-There’s always a jingle in your head
-People gravitate towards you at social events
Questions to think about:
How would you define “joy”? Are you joyful in all circumstances, good and bad? How can you fix your eyes on God?
