The fruit of the Spirit is joy: Nine spirit-filled characteristics demonstrated by Jesus
Paul often compared things to one another to show how we should overcome the world, its vices (Galatians 5:19-21), and its broad road that leads to damnation. He encourages us to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18) and then proceeds to explain what this involves. This is surely one of the most memorable pieces of Scripture, and it is a practical guideline for us as believers:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
Joy
The second fruit in the series Paul mentions is joy. This is not the happiness we find in material things we own, but the joy that He provides to us through the working of the Holy Spirit, most often in difficult times:
52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. – Acts 13:52
This joy comes on the back of severe persecution that the new church was experiencing, and one would not think that they would find any joy in the situation. However, when the Spirit of God operates in our lives, joy will be overflowing despite the situation facing us. Still, it is only possible with love as the foundation.
Jesus’ life exemplifies joy. The angels brought a message that His birth would signal great joy (Luke 2:10) and His mother rejoiced in the fact that the Saviour would be born from her (Luke 1:44-47). He rejoiced in the fact that many things were hidden from people who were highminded but revealed to those who lived humble lives in faith (Luke 10:21).
We often read about joy more in the word rejoice, but the meaning is the same. Rejoice is simply the verb from which we get the noun joy. What is so amazing about it is that we experience joy in difficult situations only through the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way we can be filled with joy when things are obviously against us. Peter understood this and he explained it this way:
6Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That 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: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:6-9
If we read the entire chapter, we see how Peter tells us that we have a lively hope (1 Peter 1:3); an incorruptible inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:4); and are kept spiritually alive through faith (1 Peter 1:5). In these things we rejoice despite the temptations. Our joy allows us to continue until the coming of Jesus Christ. Then he mentions that we do this despite not having seen Him. Peter saw Him and lived with Him but those of us to whom he is writing have not. It mirrors Paul’s description of faith:
1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report. – Hebrews 11:1-2
Despite not having seen Jesus in person, we rejoice in what is to come. We also have joy knowing that what we have in heaven cannot be stolen and cannot devalue (1 Peter 1:4). There is one characteristic of this joy we experience that we should understand: it is unspeakable. When we have the joy of the Lord operating in our lives, we can only appreciate it. It is not something we can describe to someone else. Each person must experience the joy of the Lord for themselves. It is not something we can work for, as it is a fruit of the Spirit, rather than works brought about by our own limited abilities.
Despite knowing that our joy is in the Lord, we do not always live this way. We find that we are easily distracted by things around us that rob us of our joy. This leads to sulking. It happens but should be avoided as this is when the devil robs you of your joy. The things we are distracted by cause us to be negative and in these situations, we are not focused on God. These are the temptations that James describes:
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. – James 1:2-8
James says we must consider it a joy when things go wrong as these situations test our faith and this results in patience – another fruit of the Spirit! He says that if we lack understanding (wisdom) how to cope with the situation, we should ask God for His guidance, and believe in faith that it will be given to us. Rejoicing in a time of struggle and temptation elevates us above those who do not live a Spirit-controlled life. Maybe we should accept that there are things that will happen over which we have no control. Lamenting about this is not going to achieve anything. Rejoicing in the situation allows us to rise above the situation.
Conclusion
What is your challenge? While we cannot always control things that come our way, we can control how we react to them. In this week, live out the first fruit of the Spirit, love, and then add the second, joy, in all situations. Is this easy? Most likely not. We will not be able to display the fruit of the Spirit if we are not in a situation where we are tested to see if we will indeed allow the Spirit to operate fully in our lives.
Our prayer for this week must be the following: Father, help us to display the presence of your Spirit in our lives, not just when things are going well, but in situations where we are tested. Help us to first love unconditionally, and rejoice despite the situation, finding our joy in You, instead of the world and what we are often led to believe by the devil. Help us to glorify You in everything we do, and in every situation, as you are always with us.