Joy 2: The Promise of Joy
This is the second of four devotional studies on Joy in the Hard Journey, leading up to the June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day. But this is also for anyone needing some joy!
Joy, my friend and neighbor, always brings Joy into my life—she was aptly named. She told me God gave her a joyful surprise this morning.
Judy with joyful Joy
She was talking with God this morning, sitting next to one of her (many) plants. She noticed there were little trees beginning to grow in a pot holding something else. Then she remembered that months ago she had put three avocado seeds in that plant to see what would happen, but had totally forgotten.
And this morning, she was surprised by joy as she saw the new avocado life. Sometimes you don’t know what God is growing, but you can find joy in it if you look for it.
I don’t think my reaction to the growing avocado trees would be joy, though maybe a calmer response of a happy surprise. But joy is her normal response. She lives it out and spreads it around.
When you love a prodigal, you may find joy is in scarce supply. Your surprises are usually not happy ones.
God loves to give joy
I believe our God wants joy to be our normal experience. How is that possible?
JOY is one of God’s favorite topics. It’s a gift he loves to give us.
Jumping off from our theme verse from last week in James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…”
Let’s let God Himself give us a few of His thoughts on JOY.
From the Old Testament
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
I could spend our whole time and much more on these verses.
Have you experienced His oil of joy to overcome your mourning and despair? It is available.
Psalm 32:11
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
I’m sure you have shouted for joy when something “good” happens. Can you look for the good God is doing in your current situation?
Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
Every day. He has made every day! He invites us to rejoice and be glad in it! Can we start each day rejoicing?
Zephaniah 3:17
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[a]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
God is singing a joyful love song over you—and your loved one. Does that give you hope…and joy?
And from the New Testament:
Luke 2:10
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
The birth of Jesus was a promise of great joy! He is the source of our joy. For us and for our wanderers!
Philippians 4:4
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
Always. How is that possible?
1 Thes 5:16
Rejoice always…
There it is again. Always!
When God gives a command, an admonition—such as “rejoice always”—He knows we may not be able to do it ourselves, but He makes it possible.
It’s a choice we make—to take him up on his promise to enable us to choose joy.
Acts 2:28
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.
The longer you live, the more you discover your life includes some events you wouldn’t choose. But God says He will fill us with joy in His presence no matter where the path leads.
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Next week I will cover some realities of the battle for joy and some practices that can be your pathway to joy.
Some of you may be like my friend Joy—you see joy in almost everything. Some of you may rarely see joy, but rather mostly see the problems. Most of us fall somewhere in between.
But God offers, even promises, joy. It is a gift. But as in all gifts, it only becomes ours as we accept it. Next week we will look at some very practical ways to make joy a consistent reality for us.
So, a couple of questions:
Do you believe it’s possible to experience joy on this wilderness journey
Was there one thought you had as you read that could help you have joy today?
c2023 Judy Douglass
Check out these joy songs:
Joy of the Lord--Rend Collective
You can request prayer for your prodigal in the comments here, or at prayerforprayer@gmail.com. First names only.