The Fruit Of Joy

The Fruit Of Joy

Written by Amanda Hawkins

  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." -- Galations 5:22-23

  Today I am going to talk about one of the fruits of the spirit: joy.

  Joy is something that not everyone has, yet everyone strives for. I recently realized that I lack joy in my life. Allow me to explain... I am very happy. Happily married, happy and content with my life, however, I take everything rather seriously, always trying to get things done, straight to the point, no messing around, which in turn leaves no time for joy.

  My husband, Dominic, tries to flick water playfully at me while we're doing the dishes, and I resort to aggravation. 'Stop, we have to finish the dishes."

  He tries to wrestle with me, not allowing me to leave the room, and I get upset, telling him we have things to do, when in reality all we had to do was fold some laundry.

  Every day lately has been this way. I realized recently, that I don't want to be that way. I realized that if I keep turning my husband away when he's trying to joke around with me, one day he's just going to stop joking with me, and our marriage will suffer, even leading us to be bored of one another. 

  I realized that every time I resorted to anger in return to playfulness, I was hurting him, and myself, and my husband even admitted that it hurt him. I realized that I need joy. I was sick towards myself for the way that I had acted, and I knew that it was sin.

  When I told my husband how I felt, he understood, and he told me to pray with him, and we did. We prayed for a long time. He was praising God in silence, while I weeped, repented, and asked the Lord for that joy that I had been missing.

  Now that I am aware of it, I know the Lord will show me when I am reacting in anger, rather than joy, and peace, and love, longsuffering, and goodness, gentleness, meekness, and temperance.

  "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." -- James 1:19-20

  I had allowed anger and things of the world to dull my joy.

  Joy is in my heart, but my worries, and seriousness, and sin, had covered it up for so long. Now I am once again filled with the joy that I lacked, and I can be my husbands playmate, smiling more often, joking, and wrestling, and having water fights in the kitchen. I can express the joy of the Lord to others, and even use this story as a testimony. God is good.

  If you are struggling with joy, pray about it. Prayer is the only way to grow closer to God. There is no true joy outside of the Lord, and when we slip up, and grow away from the Lord at times, we lose the fruit of the spirit.
  I know that my joy comes from the Lord. I am blessed. I praise the Lord, and I thank Him for His goodness, and for His forgiveness to a repentant heart. I pray that you find your joy in the Lord as well.

    Peace be with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.