In heaven it is fulness of Joy as we are always in the presence of God. There is no sorrow, no sickness, no anger, no bitterness, no unforgiving, no hunger…..
The Lord has given us a choice to step into a time of joy when we are here on earth. Hence, I wanted to explore joy from the perspective which matters most, the perspective of the word of God, i.e. the Bible.
Only two sets of verses are shared below. The first verse is from Deuteronomy 28. In the initial portion of the chapter, the blessing for people who listen diligently to the voice of the Lord and obey his commandments is given.
The second set lists out various curses for those who do not obey the voice and commandments of the Lord. In the verses which explains the curses and the background of the curses are verses 46 to 48 as given below.
Deuteronomy 28:46-48 KJV 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
If you pause and give time to reading the above three verses once again you notice that in verse 47, you notice how important it is to serve the Lord with joyfulness and with gladness of heart. Quite often we miss this point and only now I came to know that was a reason for the curses mentioned in the Old Testament. If that is the case, how much more reason we have to be joyful as people who are in the New Testament as we are blessed with what was the mystery unto the Old Testament people – the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection. Since Pentecost, all the believers have the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit.
Let us be aware of the importance of having joy and gladness as we serve the Lord in our every day life. Much is expected from the Lord.
Galatians 5, has another beautiful perspective on Joy.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [d]adultery, [e]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
From the above verses we see that the works of flesh are mentioned in verses 19, 20, 21. We are also reminded that those we are Christ’s have crucified all the passions and desires mentioned in verses 19,20, 21. In other words, these have been dead on the crucified and buried. No longer to be seen.
But as followers of Christ, we manifest and give expression to the fruit of the spirit which includes Joy.
We have two great reasons to have joy in our lives. And the first verse reminds us that we need to serve the Lord with Joy and gladness.
May the Holy Spirit make changes in your daily walk, in your serving the Lord.
