Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and JOY in the Holy Spirit. (Emphasis mine)
Sometimes all our troubled hearts need is the joy of the Holy Spirit. No wonder the psalmist cries out to God to restore the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12).
The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). That means sometimes our weakness is due to our joylessness. So to be joyless is to be powerless. No wonder one of the things the thief will frequently try to steal from our hearts, families and churches, if we let him, is true joy (see John 10:10). By robbing us of joy, he renders us weak. And when we are weak, we cannot be effective.
As a result, the impact of our witness for Christ is hampered by the absence of manifest joy in our lives. Who can be attracted to a bunch of stressed and joyless believers? Joyless, grumpy, weak believers do more harm than good in the Kingdom.
Jesus wants your joy to be full (John 15:11, 16:24). It’s the will of God for you to rejoice in the Lord always (Phi 4:4). Let us appropriate Kingdom Joy once again. Let the Holy Spirit restore the joy of His salvation among us. Say no to depression. So no to gloom and doom. Say yes to joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Per 1:8).
Pastor Josh