Daily Devotional

Joy! O, sweet blessed joy! I need more joy in my life, don’t you? Of course you do! We all want more joy, need more joy, desire to be more joyful, etc. So, the question then is why don’t we…as God’s children…experience more joy more often than we do?

I appreciate how “joy” is mentioned second in the fruit of the Spirit list. Right after love, and even before things like peace, patience, and self-control. Joy! There is a need for joy among God’s people and it’s no secret how to get it. The Scripture says that “joy” is a byproduct (“fruit”) of the Spirit’s work in our lives. When we yield to the Spirit’s leading (rather than pushing back against God’s will), one of the blessed results is “joy.”

So, if I don’t read Scripture, pray, fellowship with believers, share my faith, or minister my gifts to other people, I am willfully rejecting the Spirit’s work in my life and, therefore, rejecting “joy” in my life. In other words, we are lacking “joy” when we lack obedience in vital areas of spiritual growth, such as prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with God’s people.

How are you doing with your level of joy?

My friends…if you long for more of God’s “joy” in your life, the way to receive it is to pursue a lifestyle of rich holiness in all of your daily activity! In other words, honor God with your life and you’ll reap the Spirit’s fruit, which one of them is “joy.”

May God richly bless you, my friends!

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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