We will continue our reflection on the manifestation of the Spirit of God in our lives by considering joy.
If you look up a definition for the word, you will find joy is defined as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness,” but this definition is too simplistic for our Christian understanding. If joy were
only possible during times of happiness, then it could not be a result of the Spirit of God in our lives, because in addition to pleasure and happiness, our lived experience includes pain and sadness. So we turn to scripture for a more nuanced understanding of joy, and we find this truth: joy is an attribute of the triune God.
God the Creator
Is a joyful God.
God’s joyful nature is woven Into the very fabric of the universe.
From the first story of Genesis, to the the final story of Revelation,
Scripture describes how nature itself expresses joy.
The heavens rejoice,
The trees of the forest sing for joy.
Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth.
Where morning dawns, where evening fades,
God calls forth songs of joy.
As part of His creation, God also calls forth joy from humanity.
We have the ability to express joy, because that is how God created us,
And because we are created in His image;
In the image of a joyful Creator.
Take a moment to quiet your mind...
Look and listen for the joyfulness of God in the beauty of the natural world.
God the Son
Is a joyful God.
In His great love, God became flesh and dwelt among us.
This God in the flesh experienced the brokenness and despair of a disordered world,
Yet Jesus knew joy.
And in His humanness, Jesus expressed joy,
So we know that joy cannot simply be the result of feeling pleasure or happiness.
Joy is not the emotional result of circumstances.
Joy is a willful recognition that God is bringing His created world back into order;
His perfect Love is making all things new.
As followers of Jesus, we will experience pain and suffering,
But God calls forth songs of joy anyway.
In fact, the joy of the Lord becomes our strength and our shield in the midst of suffering.
Maybe now you are experiencing a night of the soul, and joy seems impossible.
Take a few moments to rest in God’s promise;
Though sorrow may last for the night,
Joy comes in the morning.
Joy is coming...
God the Spirit
Is a joyful God.
The Spirit of God makes joy possible in every facet of our human experience;
Not only in circumstances of pleasure and happiness,
But also in the reality of pain and grief.
The joy of the Lord is a phenomenon that we feel deeply in our soul,
And that we express deeply with our bodies.
This spiritual joy, called forth by God, always leads to an outward expression of praise.
Over and over in scripture, the Psalmist reminds us that the joy of the Lord
Is expressed with songs of praise and with shouts of praise.
Joy bubbles up within our soul
And explodes in ecstatic worship.
Take a moment to ask the Spirit of God
To fill you with the joy of the Lord
Until all you can do is shout His praise!
Father God,
May we find joy in your creative beauty.
Son of God,
May we find joy in your everlasting love.
Spirit of God,
May we find joy in your steadfast faithfulness.
Ecclesia, rejoice!
