Joy Unspeakable
One of the most wonderful emotions of the Holy Spirit is His possession of supernatural joy. As the Father and our Savior are both filled with Divine life so the Holy Spirit is their source of that life in us, and the life of God includes unfailing joy. There is no such thing as gloom in the Heavenly City of Jerusalem. One of the great promises of our future is to have all tears wiped from our eyes. But, the truth is that He wants to start that process in us in this life. The Bible is full of the promises of joy.
Recently, my prayer life has taken a fresh turn. I spend time just loving my Heavenly Father. When you begin to hallow His name and tell Him of your great love for knowing Him, it can literally explode in the joy of His Majesty. Then, I exalt The Lord Jesus for His deliverance from my past sins and human weaknesses and His love comes flowing back on me. It pleases our Lord to be exalted as the “Rock of Ages” crucified for us.
Then, I honor the Holy Spirit. He is a person just as the Father and the Son. He has emotions: He thinks, He acts, and He can be wounded by our neglect. He never glorifies Himself; however, the Father and the Son are pleased when we honor Him. He represents them in everything they are and they are pleased when we honor this sweet Spirit of Grace and this triumph in our life. When you truly honor Him and trust His ministry in you, He will fill you with the “Joy” of The Lord.
Many Christians look and act like sad sacks. No wonder the world is not beating down the church doors to get inside. The modern church has resorted to human schemes to build their congregations because they have lost their contagion. A church full of contagious saints, bubbling with joy, will have no trouble growing. The added benefit will be the money saved when they can fire the psychiatrist on staff. Joyous believers will not need human psychology to heal the wounds of human experiences.
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). Joy is an undying principle of the believer’s life. It is natural for a Christian to be full of joy and unnatural if they are not full of joy. In other words, something is wrong with your walk with God if you have no joy. Let’s see if we can solve the problem.
Number one is that this joy is wrapped up in your separation and sanctification with the Lord. Jesus prayed for His disciples — including us — to be full of His joy. “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24). It is Him that is full of joy and He is our joy with which we can be full. You cannot be full of the world and full of Him at the same time. Consecration to exalting Christ in all of your life is the only source of this unspeakable joy.
Christians are always tried at different times of our lives. That’s how we grow into strong and stalwart saints of God. The Holy Scripture has instructed us how to handle the tough spots. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
How we react to the struggles in our life has a great effect on our joy or the absence of our joy. We are instructed to joy or rejoice in our trials. Your emotions can be disciplined and controlled or allowed to control you. Most people are too out of control in this troubled world. Your emotions are at the very heart of who you are and, even more important, who you are becoming. Reach inside and get control of yourself. The Creator made you a whole person so quit being a cry baby.
Apostle Peter added great words to this struggle, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7). But you must not stop reading at that point. How do we rejoice or joy in tough times? Peter gives us the answer as He points us to Jesus Christ, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8).
“Joy unspeakable” is your inheritance in the Lord. You can leave it behind or you can claim and grasp by faith what is yours. If your earthly father left you a million dollars, would you live in a tent and eat from the dump or would you go to the bank and make a withdrawal? The Bank of Heaven recognizes all withdrawals made in Jesus’ name by His Saints. Start living on His supernatural joys today. The Holy Spirit is waiting to deliver the withdrawal of joy to your account.