Joy

CALL TO PRAYER

Topic: Joy

By: Victoria Dauda

Date: 08.01.2025

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:20-22, NIV)

Joy is a beautiful emotion to experience; it’s a feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness. To feel joy is to rejoice. As Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (NIV). So, God expects us to always be joyful.

The joy we are admonished to have in the kingdom is not one that is dependent on our current situation or what is happening around us, but on the Lord and what He did for us in Christ. Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and it is developed when we abide in God’s presence and have faith in His Word. As Scripture says in Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (NIV)

There are various places in the Bible where we can find people full of joy.

David’s Joy

One example of biblical joy is David’s joy in the Lord. Even though he experienced betrayal, loss, and shame, David always went back to praising God and rejoicing in Him. As he said in Psalm 30:11, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” (NIV)

When Saul was trying to kill him, when people were making fun of him, and even when God forgave him for murder and adultery, David found himself at the feet of the Lord, glorifying and praising Him in a joyful manner.

He recognized that his feelings didn’t determine his joy, but his faith in God did. From this, we see that David reaped the joy of the Lord because he went to God with a broken and humbled heart over and over again. As he said in Psalm 126:5, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” (NIV)

Joy for the Lost Being Found

In Luke 15, Jesus talks about how there is joy and celebration in heaven for the lost being found. So when we are involved in soul winning, the residents of heaven (which includes us, for we are seated with Him in heavenly places Ephesians 2:6) have an occasion to celebrate and be joyful!

Key takeaways:

Sorrow is temporary, joy is eternal.
Jesus’ presence brings joy.

Remain Joyful!

PRAYER POINTS

Let us thank God for the joy of salvation. Let us pray that nothing will take away our joy.