Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we have seen in the past week, God the Holy Spirit gives us the joy of salvation. He does not give and then absent Himself. Rather, the Spirit continues to strengthen our joy. Romans 14:17-18 is a passage that we have referenced a couple of times in this reasonably lengthy study. The context is curious to us, for a raging debate amongst Christians of the first century was whether or not it was acceptable to purchase and partake of meat that had been offered to pagan idols. In that culture, this subject was relevant; to us, the principles underlying Paul’s Spirit-inspired writings are what matter. Thus, even then, the real question was not “Do you eat meat sacrificed to idols?” but “Do you have joy?” As we make correct choices in life, the Holy Spirit will confirm the rightness of such decisions by strengthening us in all areas of our Christian walk, including joy. We often speak of being strong in faith; we should also speak of being strong in joy. Certainly the power of God the Holy Spirit is directed to strengthening us in His joy.