Joy is a word that represents VICTORY!
For us as believers, joy signifies a victorious and peaceful state in Christ, filling us with confidence and hope for the future. This joy stems from the hope that resides within us.
If we truly understand the victory we have in Christ, there is every reason to pursue an attitude of grateful rejoicing.
For us, the beginning of everything is the very revelation that, through Jesus Christ, we possess eternal life.
Knowing that death and the fear of death no longer carry any authority in our lives sets us apart from the rest of the world and takes dominion over all the power of death.
The world fears death. Not knowing their future, they go about their day either ignoring the elephant in the room (the fact that they will die someday) or living their lives in a fearful wonder about their afterlife.
For you and me as Christians, that issue has been settled at Calvary.
The peace that we can walk in is beyond comprehension.
The issue is that so often the world, life, problems, and so forth snatch our joy away. We get too caught up in the here and now, and we don’t let our future revelation shape our attitude.
It is vital that we keep spiritually focused, and the joy that belongs to us always in front of everything we are about.
Maintaining Joy in Every Season
In this blog, we want to explore some scriptures and attitudes that can help us maintain a joyful lifestyle, even in the face of trials.
One of the most frequently quoted scriptures on the subject of joy is Nehemiah 8:10, which states:
“Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”
Practically speaking, embracing gratitude and trusting in God’s promises can help us remain joyful during challenging times.
People stood, listening to the words of the law; they were overcome with sorrow over all the sins the nation had committed.
The reason for their captivity had been the rebellion of generations of leaders and the people against the holy standards of the word.
But now, standing back on home ground, having finished the wall in a miraculous 52 days, they mourned over the failures of the past.
They were told not to mourn but to celebrate that God had brought them back.
They now have a fresh understanding of the law of God and a second chance to move forward with all His blessings walking with them.
Our first understanding is that joy is the strength of God.
God is love, and the outflow of that love is the joy that speaks of a secure eternity with Him in glory.
It declares His love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and adoption back to Himself.
We can walk in total confidence that now all of heaven is on our side as we walk in obedience to the faith that brought us to Calvary, and our being new creations in Christ.
Remember, all old things have passed away, and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The past is forgiven, and your future is secure.
Having that joy from God is now the strength and confidence we have to trust Him in all things as we move forward.
To help us, the fruit of the Spirit is the strength that holds us steadfast as we move forward in life.
As you are filled with the Holy Spirit, His very nature and person fill and overflow in and through you.
The first two fruits tell the story for the rest.
The Foundation: Love and Joy
The first is love.
This gives us the peace that we need to trust—the confidence that God is always with us and will never leave or forsake us.
The second is joy.
Joy is the strength and power of God, fueled by His love for us to become the overcomers.
It is the power of God that allows us to drive forward. It is His strength to overcome. It speaks of a future that is secured and whose outcome is unchangeable.
What confidence knowing that the love of God ignites a joy that is unstoppable, and will empower us to drive forward in the victory that we already possess.
The Example of Jesus
Hebrews 12:2 tells us:
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the same, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus led by example and proved the power and authority of joy.
Seeing afar off the victory and the future of His obedience, Jesus pushed through all opposition.
He faced the cross, did not give shame any power to stop Him, and arrived at the right hand of power with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to Him (1 Peter 3:22).
His victory was in His walking in a state of joy.
Jesus knew who He was, He knew where He came from, and He knew where He was going (John 15:9–11).
As He walked in the love of His Father, joy was the outflow of His life.
This joy He gives to us as we walk in His love.
In this place, we understand that under His abiding love, joy will fill and remain in us.
The confident, peaceful understanding that He has all things in His control, and He is above all things (Ephesians 1:22).
Guarding Your Joy
The choice that we have is to remain in this place of joy.
As believers, we stand against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). We face opposition and issues that seek to discourage or distract us in our walk.
At times, persecution can override everything that we are doing, and the choice to back away becomes a strong temptation.
There are three things we can do to guard our joy:
1. Discipline
Discipline ourselves to stay in faith in the joy that belongs to us.
Hebrews 10:35–36 states:
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
2. Decision
We guard our hearts and thoughts to stay focused on the faith and joy we possess.
Philippians 4:8 states:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
We must make the decision to guard our hearts against all thoughts that could pull us down from joy.
2 Corinthians 10:5 states:
“casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
3. Hold Fast Your Confession
Hold fast your confession of hope.
Hebrews 10:23 states:
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Confess the word of God consistently over our lives.
2 Corinthians 4:13 says:
“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed, and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak,”
Choosing Joy Daily
Remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength to win, overcome, and succeed.
Living a lifestyle of joy is a choice.
We choose to believe what God has done and is still doing in our lives.
We chose to believe that:
“No weapon formed against you will prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17)
We chose to believe that:
“All things work together for good to them that love the Lord, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
We stand on the scripture that:
“He will never leave us or forsake us.” (Joshua 1:5)
“He will always be with us, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Our confidence is in the fact that His love will never fail us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God, as Paul writes in Romans 8:35 & 37–39:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The joy of knowing that God’s active love for us is unstoppable and unchangeable.
It is this joy that we chose to walk in! Hallelujah!
Paul writes in Philippians 4:4:
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.”
Having written Philippians 3:1, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord”, Paul explains that he has counted everything of his past as nothing that he may gain Christ, and the power of His resurrection.
He chased the righteousness that comes from God and not himself.
He has chosen to press towards the mark and the high calling in Christ Jesus.
He declares that our citizenship is in heaven, eagerly anticipating Christ’s return.
Paul had been caught up in the third heaven. He has seen things beyond our comprehension.
His ministry, focus, and attitude reveal a joy he possesses because he has, in a sense, seen the future of the church and himself.
He then continues to encourage all of us who have this understanding in our Spirit to maintain an attitude of joy, because our futures are secured.
Joy in the Midst of Trials
This joy is what carries us through any trial.
James 1:2–4 tells us:
“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations, knowing that the trying of our faith (in what is ahead of and for us) will produce patience, and let the patience have (or produce) its perfect work.”
We will come out victorious as we are already more than conquerors through Christ.
Joy defeats discouragement.
We can choose to let the problem defeat us, or stand our ground and rejoice in the devil’s face, declaring that whatever he meant for evil, God WILL turn it for the good.
The soldier going into battle shouts a victory shout as he charges forward towards his enemy.
His attitude is his strength, and he needs to confront it with confidence for the outcome.
It’s a joy or rejoicing that throws his adversary off.
David charged Goliath with the shout of victory on his lips.
He knew who he was, and who the enemy wasn’t.
He fully understood that Goliath had no spiritual defenses whatsoever that could defeat him.
David was confident of victory and shouted with joy:
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.’” (1 Samuel 17:45–46)
With the joy of knowing the outcome, David charged the giant, and the outcome changed his entire life.
Victory is in the joy that we chose to walk in.
It is one of the greatest weapons that we possess.
If the devil can get your joy, he will own your victory.
Standing in Grace Through Joy
Romans 5:1–5 states:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Because of the peace that we have in Christ, we have full access to the grace that we need to win.
In this place, we rejoice in the hope that is ours in God as we stand strong with our joy and glory, even when trials or problems come.
We know that as we stand on our faith with joy, the trials can only perfect us and never destroy us.
Believers, trials will come. They come to everyone.
The difference is that the world has no true answer for them and how to handle them. They have no confident expectation or outcome.
You and I, as believers, have all.
We have the answer, we have the word to handle them, we know the outcome, and we have a confident expectation that we will come out triumphant and victorious.
You and I have the love of God, and You and I have the peace of God.
Because we have these two ingredients in our lives, we can also be filled with the joy of God’s future expectations for us.
Ephesians 1:4–5 states:
“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
Conclusion
Because He has predestined us for all this, we can have a confident joy always ringing through our hearts.
A lifestyle of joy is easy when you know the truth.
Jesus said in John 8:32:
“You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free,”
and because of what we possess, we have a joy that is steadfast and operates in our lives.
With all this, we can close with 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
