FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT-JOY
Galatians 5:22-23 TPT But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace the pursues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
Nehemiah 8:10 AMPC 10 Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV 17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
I am talking about the fruit of the Spirit. Last time we talked about love in all its varied expressions. Today I am talking about joy that overflows. This fruit of joy is within you because Holy Spirit dwells within you. It is part of His character. All this fruit is within you. You need to realize it and renew your mind to it.
He rejoices over you with singing. He leaps for joy and spins around with intense motion over you because of His love for you. This joy isn’t a quiet, inner sense of well-being. He dances over you and gets excited over you. WOW! If you are having a rough time, just remember this verse in Zephaniah, that He is dancing over you and excited about you.
His joy will give you strength. How does His joy give you strength? A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing. But a broken spirit dries up the bones and zaps your strength (Pro 17:22).
I know you are wondering how a person can be joyful with all that is going on in this world. His joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness comes from the outside. It is a fleeting, temporal condition that depends on the comfort of your flesh. His joy comes from the inside. It is based on the condition of your heart. When you get a revelation of His joy that is within you, you will be able to be joyful no matter what is going on around you. His presence is always with you, so His joy is always with you. When trials come focus on the Lord and His Word and His joy will strengthen you.
Remember Paul and Silas when they were in prison (Acts 16:24-26). They were in stocks in the inner prison but they were joyful in the midst of their trial and praised the Lord. As they were praising Him, the Lord got so excited from their praises that He started dancing and singing so much that the foundations of the prison were shaken and all the doors were opened and the shackles on all the prisoners were loosed. Are you in a trial right now? Start praising Him and you will receive the victory. Praise will stir up the joy that is within you.
Father, thank You for this joy that gives me strength. Thank You for delighting in me and singing over me. I will praise You and stir up the joy that is within me and walk in victory that You give me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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