All Joy, No Stress: A 5-Day Devotional With Rhett WalkerSample

God-Sized Joy

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Our joy tends to wax and wane depending on the season and the circumstance. That’s because our “joy” is often human-sized. The same event we look forward to with excitement also brings a sigh of relief when it’s over. We might sing praises one day and a full-on dirge the next. There is often a blurry line between what we consider to be joyful and what we consider to be dreadful. But God wants to replace our human-sized joy with His God-sized version.

Romans 15:13 doesn’t leave this process open to interpretation. Paul didn’t pray for God to improve our joy, as if we already possess some measure of joy that only needs to be tweaked here or there. He asked God to fill us with joy. That’s because joy isn’t something we can muster up in the slightest amount on our own. If we try, we’ll find ourselves bankrupt of joy in short order. Joy is, in no uncertain terms, a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It comes to us from God who transforms us by the power of His Spirit.

However, this transformation is not automatic. We do have some responsibility in receiving this joy. Paul wrote, “as you believe.” This is one reason why singing songs of worship is such a vital part of our spiritual growth. We sing what we believe, and when we aren’t sure we believe it, we sing anyway so that God might inform our hearts and make His joy real to us. As we learn through Scripture, prayer, and worship who God is, He fills us with the reality of that knowledge so we might overflow with the joy of hope in every circumstance.

Reflection

• Would you say that you have “all joy” (God-sized joy) or just “some joy” (human-sized joy)? How does Romans 15:13 encourage or challenge you in that?
• How can you encourage others in the joy that is available to them in Christ?
• Pray and ask God to help you abound in hope through Him.