“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: …joy…” Galatians 5:22a

 

"...for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

 

It's time for joy!

 

JOY! It’s a little word with a HUGE grounding!

 

The Greek word Chara, which is derived from the same Greek word as Charis, is translated for us as this tiny word joy. Charis means grace. This type of joy is about God’s grace, not about our state of being.

 

When we look back into the book of Nehemiah, we see a perfect “fleshing out” of what having “joy” is supposed to look like.

 

It was the Sabbath (for us Sunday). The people of God had just listened to Ezra the scribe and priest (for us our Pastor). He read from the law of Moses (for us the Bible). The law had been explained for their deeper understanding and application (for us a sermon). The people wept at the conviction that it brought (for us… weeping at the conviction it brings ☺)

 

The people’s hearts were tender. They recognized their sin. They were grieved by the understanding of their guilt. But they didn’t need to stay there! There leaders stepped up and said, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” God does not bring conviction for the sake of making us grieve; He brings conviction so that we can be forgiven—so we can experience His grace! It is within that experience that we find the strength to face other situations. We remember God’s grace to get us through!

 

When I look at my house and see that I have neglected it and there are hours and hours and hours of cleaning ahead of me, I can get discouraged. I can give up before I even start. I’ve recognized the mess; I’ve realized my guilt by viewing the results of my neglect, and all I want to do is sit and cry. But if I’ll just remember the last time I was here and envision the spotless house that I’ve had since that time, the “vision” brings me joy. I smile thinking about that clean house. It is within that joy that I pick myself up off the one clean spot on my couch and find the strength to get on with it.

 

People need to see joy in our lives. Like love, there is an attractiveness that pulls people’s attention to it. There are times to feel grief, but within those times, the joy of the Lord becomes our strength. We know that His grace is in place. We've experienced it before; it will carry us through any situation. He does not leave us in our grief if we are willing to recall His graciousness towards us, find strength in the joy of that recollection, and handle what needs handling.

 

So here it is… this type of joy only comes from the infilling of the Holy Spirit that we received when God’s grace was expressed in the forgiving of our sins. This joy truly is part of the “fruit of the Spirit”!  

 

Reminder: We are known by our fruits… (Matthew 7:16a)