Messages from our hearts... JOY Kimberly Hobbs Founder and Executive Director, Women World Leaders kimberly@womenworldleaders.com How many of us can say we have true inner joy? Many people get joy confused with happiness. Joy is not like happiness, which is based on happenings or whether things are going well or not. Joy remains even during suffering. Joy from God’s Word is a gift. There are over 150 references to joy in God’s Word. The two main definitions of joy in God’s Word are: 1. Gladness in the Lord, such as happiness, contentment, and delight and, 2. Rejoice, which describes the outward expression of our internal joy. Both are connected. Rejoicing flows out of gladness in the Lord, and our gladness in the Lord increases the more we rejoice. How wonderful is this? We should all desire to have joy in our hearts. This is what God’s Word tells us. I used to sing a song to my children when they were small, using hand motions that went with it. The song emphasized the importance of the word Joy. I have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay. The song continues, emphasizing the importance of joy residing in the heart and staying there. Joy comes from God. More specifically, it comes from the Holy Spirit. (1 Thess 1:6, TPT) Joy is a fruit of the spirit. When we have faith and are obedient to God, the Bible tells us our joy will be complete. “If you keep my commands, you will live in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commands, for I continually live nourished and empowered by his love. My purpose for 48
telling you these things is so that the joy that I experience will fill your hearts with overflowing gladness!” (John 15:1011, TPT) Our closeness to God results in loving Him. The closer we draw to Him, the closer He draws to us. This love and faith in God fill us with joy, as the disciple Peter talks about. “You love Him passionately although you did not see Him, but through believing in Him, you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.” (1 Peter 1:8, TPT) When we are experiencing sin in our life, it hinders us from experiencing the joy that God intends for us. Sin separates us from God, who is our source of joy. It is difficult to look through a dark cloud that blinds our vision. We need to examine what may be hindering us from experiencing the joy that blesses us. Ask God to reveal it to you. If you are feeling depressed and lacking true inner joy, something may be blocking that internal joy. God will do it; He will show you where the problem is if you ask Him. You may find that repentance over the exposed sin will bring you the freedom and joy that transcends the circumstances. The gladness in your heart comes from God alone. God cannot be present in a sinful situation. Confess your sins. God is faithful and just to forgive those sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. “But if we freely admit our sins when His light uncovers them, He will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and He will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, TPT) True joy can enter where God is present because where God is present, there is joy. Joy is the result of a life that is lived for God. Taken from the book: Tears to Triumph Releasing Pain to receive Gods Restoration by Kimberly Ann Hobbs
