The Joy of the Lord

The joy of the Lord is a believer’s strength. Saints were never intended to live by the pleasures of this world. They are short-lived and empty. Worldly pleasures rob the born again individual of the Lord’s joy and leave them subject to the passing fancies of this world. The Lord’s joy is not an admixture. It stands alone. It is so superior to life on the natural level that these two are opposites. The person full of the Lord’s joy loses all dependency on the lust for the world. The opposite is also true. The person that runs after the world’s pleasure loses all dependency on the Joy of the Lord.

The Lord’s joy is His supernatural life. It exists on a level of divine dimensions. The moment a repentant sinner is converted by the power of the Blood this joy invades their heart. A light comes on in their entire person that shines unto the brightest day. It’s a new world totally independent of our circumstances. It is just as bright in a cabin as a mansion – in a sick body as well as a healthy body. The light of this joy is so rich in healing that most often the sickness disappears at the entrance of this divine invasion. I have known many new converts, who were divinely healed of a physical malady instantly. The joy of the Lord drove out the destroying enemy.

The Joy of the Lord is a full joy. Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). The words "might be full" comes from one Greek word, "made replete," "cram," "level up," or "finish." The Son of God said it a second time. This time He speaks of it with the explicit invitation for you to ask Him for this joy. "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). When you are full of His joy, you will be contagious.

Our greatest authority in witnessing has nothing to do with our personality or great use of words to convince people. The joy of the Lord is the manifestations of Him. The Son of God floods our entire being–body, soul, and spirit. It springs up in us like an artesian well. The Lord spoke as He appeared in the Jewish temple. It was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacle, an extremely jubilant time for Israel.

He said, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:37-39). There was no effort in the early church to use sociological techniques to persuade men into the House of God. They simply offered them living waters. They were so full of those living waters themselves that the unconverted were persuaded by the multitudes.

Head religion must be passed on to others by argument or clever methods. Heart religion is caught just like we catch a cold. Somebody with the fever must pass it on to others. No wonder John the Baptist spoke of Christ and said, "he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11). The most profound effect of God’s Spirit in your life is "unspeakable Joy."

As we read of the early church in Acts, we see them "turning their world upside down." They were feared and hated by the religious powers of that day because they were a threat to their systems. There were no clever organizations or methods of advertisement. They were full of Jesus Christ’s resurrected life and it was sheer joy.

Multitudes of men and women living the humdrum life were suddenly challenged with life that had meaning and spiritual satisfaction. Christianity was born in the transformation of a dead religion unto a faith of life and reality. The Joy of the Lord in the life of those early believers and disciples set our faith on a foundation that Satan could not destroy. The Faith of Christ has survived two thousand years because His saints – sometimes few – have never lost their joy. It is our strength.

Joseph R. Chambers