Joy - Experience Joy This ChristmasSample

Joy is strength and healing

Joy is not a weak emotion, not a feeble response to good circumstances; it is a resilient strength that enables devoted followers to live with the heart of heaven in the midst of a broken world full of suffering. 

Joy is the inexpressible reality of God in our heart overflowing into how we live. When the Bible says, “the joy of the Lord is your strength,” it is heaven whispering the secret of fulfilled living. 

We are strengthened when we realise that we are God’s joy. That’s what this verse is actually saying. In Hebrew, the joy the Lord has in us, is our strength! The love we know God has for us, is our strength! 

Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church was that they would gain strength and endurance and patience WITH JOY. Because, what are all the blessings of God to us if we never learn to ENJOY them? 

God’s joy over you can heal you of your despair if you will only allow yourself to receive it again. It gave Paul the power to rejoice always, even in the hopelessness of prison. It gave Jesus the tenacity to go to the cross, despite the shame and pain of that call. And it can give us the strength and healing power we need to live a victorious, enriching life in the here and now, as God’s beloved children who bring Him joy!

To reflect:

1. What does strength coming from joy look like?

2. What are some situations you are facing that you have allowed yourself to lose joy in? Reach out to some friends and get them to pray for God to change your heart and give you the joy of the Lord to strengthen you through this!

3. Do you really believe that you are God’s joy? How does this reality strengthen you?