Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
One of our goals as Christians is that we produce good fruit. In order to produce fruit, we must abide in Him. John 15: 1-2 says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. As we are abiding in Him, we must be willing to let Him prune us.
A lot of people stop here - knowing that God is a good gardener. They acknowledge who God is but they don’t let Him work in their life. John 15: 1-2 says that he will cut off the branches that don’t produce fruit and He will prune the branches that are producing fruit. He is a good father. We know that He will prune us with care, especially when we are submissive. The posture of our heart matters. We have to be willing to let Him be the gardener of our lives so that we can produce more fruit. One of the fruits of the spirit is joy.
A lot of people confuse happiness and joy. Happiness is a feeling, joy is a fruit. It can also be said like this: happiness is for our soul while joy is for our spirit. Happiness can be a bi-product of joy but happiness is fleeting. Joy from the Lord is lasting. You’ve probably heard the phrase “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” But where does joy come from? Joy comes from having faith in God. We know His character and His faithfulness. So, we know that we can have joy in every season because while our situations may change, God never will.
We have joy because of what Christ did on the cross. His salvation alone is a reason to walk in joy. Psalm 51:12 says “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” When you are lacking in joy, focus on the cross; the joy of your salvation. Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” You are the joy set before him. He died on the cross for your salvation. Because of this, you can live a life full of joy.
What does the fruit of joy look like in action? It looks like having joy in every season, no matter what is in front of you. In the middle of a storm or a trial, you can still have joy! If you are not producing or walking in joy, look at your roots. Are you abiding in Him? Are you letting Him prune you?
Two killers of joy I’ve noticed, specifically in this generation, are envy and burnout. Envy is a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck. We can be envious of all kinds of things: someone’s job, relationship status, opportunities, etc. When we envy, we are jealous of other people’s season or successes instead of focusing on where God has put us in this moment and current season.
God is love, meaning we are born of love and have the ability to walk in love. We must walk out this love daily. Instead of envying, we must be conscious to love others. We have joy that people need. People need to hear about the joy of our salvation. People are searching for this. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, focus on what you do have. Focus on what God has blessed you with and how He is pruning you in your current season. This will produce joy.
Burnout comes from overcommitting and not prioritizing our personal relationship with God. So many young adults overmit to things. Not all of these things are necessarily bad, but if we are not allowing God to fill us, we will not have anything to pour out. Romans 12:11 - 13 says “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Spiritual fervor is not found in what you do, it’s found in the source of your savior, Jesus. We must pursue God’s presence. We must go to the source. This is where true joy comes from.
Are you going to the source or are you operating out of your own strength? Remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength. But, you have to know Him in order to find this joy. John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. We must remain in Him. Abide in Him. We can have joy in every season when we are truly abiding and letting Him be the gardener of our lives.
