September 17, 2020 (Thursday)
The previous two blogs were about anger and frustration. We talked of frustration and the disappointment of not getting what we want, and before that we talked of the anger that often flows from frustration as we frantically search for someone or something to blame.
So let’s change the subject today and talk about joy. When Paul recited the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 6 the words simply rolled from his tongue, the first three clinging together like sweet grapes on a vine: Love, Joy, Peace.
Love, Joy and Peace join their hearts and seek to bless us, pushing away our negative and self-centered thoughts and freeing us from their enslavement. I think most of us instinctively know what love is, as we receive it and give it in return. We sometimes bask in the sunlight of God’s wonderful peace with a calmness of spirit made possible by the Lord’s presence. But what is joy?
The verb form of “joy” is “rejoice.” Joy=happiness; Rejoice=be happy. Again, we go to Paul’s letters and read this call to live as a Christian: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Immediately another song pops into my head: Here is the anonymous song that just now came to mind:
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice!
is the song, by J.E. Carlson in 1939, that I first thought about:
Let Jesus come into your heart.
If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy,
Let Jesus come into your heart.
Your sins He’ll wash away
Your night He’ll turn to day,
Your life, He’ll make it over anew.
If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy,
Let Jesus come into your heart.
“Joy to the World, the Lord has come!”