Jesus' Joy - Our Good Example

Ever felt down? Depressed? Joyless?

I have advice. If you're not a Christian. Meet Jesus! If you are a Christian, rely on the Holy Spirit to give you joy! This is where true joy comes from. Galatians 5:22 lists joy as one of the "fruits of the spirit." And Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is a matter of "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Going through a REALLY tough time though? Maybe you don't see how this elusive joy is even possible? Let's look at two biblical examples of attaining joy.

First, of course, Jesus!
Jesus was a man just like us, with all the same temptations common to us, though he never sinned. How did he remain joyful throughout his life? The Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit..." and then he prayed to the Father. (Notice our trinitarian God here!)

But I can hear the argument already. Jesus, in this context, was probably happy anyway, right? The seventy-two he sent had came back, and although he had just admonished them for rejoicing for the wrong reasons, he must have been happy that they had done the good work of sharing the good news!

I say, regardless, he's still is receiving some supernatural joy from the Spirit, right?

Right.

[EDIT: Also, I think we should keep in mind that Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" or "familiar with suffering" (Isa 53). Plus, Eccl 1:18 says that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." And Jesus was the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth! Some may say it was all so much easier for him, remaining joyful in our context, because He was God. But I think the instrumental thing was that he was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit continuously. And that same spirit lives within us; the one that raised Christ from the dead! (Rom 8:11) ]

Okay, well, second example - let's flip over to 1 Thes Chapter 1. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica and they were apparently not in circumstances that would be really congruent with joy usually. They were, in fact, suffering severely (Paul's words, not mine). I don't know what kind of suffering, although I assume it included persecution from very angry non-believers, as Paul had been chased out of town by an angry mob when he left! (Read Acts 17).

But...what did the church there do? Paul writes: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." If we're going through some valleys, even "severe suffering", joy is still available to us!

Fantastic, no?

Now, to finish, maybe you still can't figure out what there is to be joyful about. Well, I believe that this joy spoken of really is a supernatural joy, and we should not, perhaps, try to manufacture it. But let me just jump back to the scene in Luke's gospel quickly. Jesus says to the seventy-two - "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Well, if you trust Jesus, your name is written in heaven! A proverbial 'guest list' to the wedding feast that will begin eternity for believers! That's something to be joyful about! Just one of many things that can bring us joy regardless of our circumstances. So.....

Rejoice!