How does your life bear the fruit of joy in the midst of your challenges?
Is it a challenge to keep the joy? The joy is a natural fruit of abiding in Christ as are all the fruits of the spirit. Just your thoughts on this. Thank you.
Best answer:
Answer by lovely green eyes
The more I walk with Christ the more I find that His presence is especially manifest in difficult times.
It is almost like – when the pain is so much to numb us from the confusion of the world, then i can clearly hear His voice of love saying “You are not alone, I am here, right at your side and everything will be OK.”
I recently had to undergo emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. For a few hours I felt like the world was going to crush on me. But then He spoke to me, in a still voice, and promised healing and restoration and I felt JOY.
Our joy come from KNOWING Him, knowing that He is still in charge, He is still sovereign and in control, therefore no adversity will ever crush us down. I believe this is why Paul was able to say from his prison: “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted Him for that day”. (2 Timothy 1:12)
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Peace to all. Do you still remember the joy that you had when you accepted the Lord as your Savior.
John 7: 37, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38, He that believe on me, as the scripture had said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
I heard this story about a person visiting a ministry center in W.Africa, when he saw
a girl climb on the back of a truck that had a public address system. Smiling she
began to sing over the microphone.
Its bubbling, its bubbling, its bubbling in my soul. Im singing and laughing since
Jesus made me whole. Since Jesus came within and cleansed my heart from sin. Its
bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, in my soul
He talked about the joy in her voice that was so evident and powerful that to this day
he said he remembers the lyrics.
When we accept Christ as out savior, he fills us with that Joy.
Do we commit our challenges and difficulties to the Lord, In order to keep our joy,
or do we let sin enter in and take that joy from us.
We need to keep the river of living water flowing through us. I believe we all
want that bubbling in our soul..Psalm 27:6
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
Nehemiah 8:10
for the joy of the LORD is your strength……..Periods of sadness and depression can enter the life of even the most devout Christian. We see many examples of this in the Bible. Job wished he had never been born (Job 3:11). David prayed to be taken away to a place where he would not have to deal with reality (Psalm 55:6-8). Elijah, even after defeating 450 prophets of Baal with fire called down from heaven (1 Kings 18:16-46), fled into the desert and asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:3-5).
So how can we overcome these periods of joylessness? We can see how these same people overcame their bouts of depression. Job said that, if we pray and remember our blessings, God will restore us to joy and righteousness (Job 33:26). David wrote that the study of God’s Word can bring us joy (Psalm 19:8). David also realized that he needed to praise God even in the midst of despair (Psalm 42:5). In Elijah’s case, God let him rest for a time and then sent a man, Elisha, to help him (1 Kings 19:19-21). We also need friends that we can share our hurts and pains with (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). It may be helpful to share our feelings with a fellow Christian. We may be surprised to find that he or she has struggled with some of the same things that we are going through.
Most importantly, it is certain that dwelling on ourselves, our problems, our hurts, and especially our pasts will never produce true spiritual joy. Joy is not found in materialism, it is not found in psychotherapy, and it most certainly is not found in obsession with ourselves. It is found in Christ. We who belong to the Lord “glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). To know Christ is to come to have a true sense of ourselves, and true spiritual insight, making it impossible to glory in ourselves, in our wisdom, strength, riches, or goodness, but in Christ—in His wisdom and strength, in His riches and goodness, and in His person only. If we remain in Him, immerse ourselves in His Word, and seek to know Him more intimately, our “joy will be full” (John 15:1-11)…….So please remember the ones that do not have joy right now, keep them in your prayers……Finally, remember that it is only through God’s Holy Spirit that we can find true joy (Psalm 51:11-12; Galatians 5:22; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). We can do nothing apart from the power of God (2 Corinthians 12:10, 13:4). Indeed, the harder we try to be joyful through our own efforts, the more miserable we can become. Rest in the Lord’s arms (Matthew 11:28-30) and seek His face through prayer and Scripture. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
I love lovely green eyes answer for it is so true.
There’s a song that goes like this and your question reminded me of it.
The fruit on the vine is so fresh and so pure
And the sunlight it shines on the sparkling dew
The leaves they are covered with frost divine
And the children keep singing of freedom
The true vine surrounds you
You are only a leaf
But the vine that’s called Jesus
He died for you and me
So look to the Son
For your source of light
And you’ll find of His blood a new freedom
Today if we are seeking for a true light that shines
Just look to the harvest and you will surely find
The taste that’s enduring the fullness is love
Come to Jesus, He’ll give you His freedom.
@Rosalinderosa. Thank you so much for sharing that. It really ministered to me. You are right. We cannot allow the hard times to rob us of Joy. Praise the Lord that He is faithful.
Every once in a while I lighten up, don’t take myself so seriously, and laugh at what I’m worried about.
Knowledge breaks the yoke of darkness and spiritual captivity.I use His knowledge for victory on the battle field,and to calmly meet the challenges of everyday life.The fruits of the spirit form and present the image of our spirits,call,”Personality”.There is also fruits of evil that seek to cancel out how we ought to conform ourselves according to the image in that God first created our spirits.
The mind of the LORD with Paul: ” For this cause since the day we heard of your love in the Spirit cease not to pray for you desiring that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, So that you might walk worthy of the LORD to all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to His glorious power to all patience and long suffering “WITH JOYFULNESS”…
giving thanks to the Father which is right and who has made us worthy and established to be partakers of the inheritance among all the saints in light” Colossians 1: 8-12
In knowing the wisdom and spiritual understanding with this strengthening of the Spirit brings the Joy of this fellowship. The mind who only knows his sins are forgiven but his mind has know spiritual wisdom and understanding is a scary place to be in. Almost every thing we go through while walking in the valley of the shadow of death if the light of Christ is not obtained unto a spiritual mind , its like not being saved yet saved, and there’s no joy in that.
Here we see the love of the Spirit among these believers, yet the mind of the Spirit on Paul had him praying along with those among with Paul, that these believers that they be filed with all spiritual wisdom, See Ephesians 1: 1-18 and spiritual understanding. In Ephesians 4: 23-24 we see Paul making it even more clear what we should look forward and endeavor to do. “PUT ON THE NEW MAN”
There no real joy with being born of God but having a mind that is ruled by the senses and inclinations of the flesh that hs you thinking you are still a sinner