I’m sure you have lost car keys and can’t find them. Or perhaps an address or recipe? It’s somewhere, but you can’t locate it because it’s not in its normal place. Today we’re going to discuss joy which sometimes feels like it’s lost. You can start out your day singing a happy song and before 8 am hits, your zipper stuck on your coat and coffee spilled all over your clothes. Where is my joy?
1.Know Where Joy Is Located
True joy is not in another person or in things. According to the Bible, joy is in you rather than a response to things outside you.
According to Galatians 5:22-23 joy is a fruit of our human spirit indwelt by God’s Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” This joy is a fruit of the born again human spirit. It is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. This verse above refers to our human spirit having the attributes or DNA of God. Although these attributes are also part of God’s nature, they are also in us. The battle is between our human spirit acting out the God nature or our flesh responding to negative circumstances.
2.Acknowledge that God’s Spirit and joy dwell in you
I Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? “The first step to finding your joy is locating that it is inside you. It is not a feeling or response to good news. Joy is a spiritual force and fruit that is there to strengthen you in the hard times. Some days I just have to tell myself “I’m full of joy and I’ve got the victory”! Don’t wait until you feel happy to experience joy. Take your joy and begin to count your blessings.
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