The Fruit of the Spirit (Joy)

March 21, 2023

Why is the Fruit of the Spirit so important?

The fruit of the Spirit or Holy Spirit is what is produced when you allow the Spirit of God to transform and renew your heart and mind. The Scripture that discloses exactly what the fruit of the Spirit consist of is found in the book of Galatians in the New Testament. In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

The reason why the fruit of the spirit is so important is because they are the characteristics that the Lord expects us to display as His children. Once you get saved and become a believer of Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes and lives on the inside of you. He is the One that is our Helper guiding us and leading us into all truth, John 16:13.

One of His primary functions is to aid us in the complete renewal of our minds, Romans 12:2. The reason why that is so significant is because there is no way that you can be shaped and molded into the image of Christ if there is no change in the way that you think. That is why the Spirit of God is so vital to our walk as believers because He convicts you when you are heading down the wrong path.

As you begin to know His still small voice and yield to His instructions, you will see the fruit of His Spirit shining through you. As you get into your Bible and study to show yourself approved, the Holy Spirit can now use God’s Word to bring correction, direction, and instruction. If you are exhibiting character traits that do not line up with the Lord’s Word, the Spirit of God will let you know.

It is then up to you whether or not you heed to His voice. Remember, the Holy Spirit is a dove and will not force His will upon you. He will attempt to bear His fruit in your life but if you fail to listen to His guidance, He will only nudge you so many times. One of the worst things that you could ever do is grieve the Holy Spirit to the point where you can no longer identify His voice.

I’m going to go over some Scriptures regarding the fruit of the Spirit, joy:

Romans 14:17

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

The Apostle Paul is speaking to the Church of Rome regarding what should be important to a child of God. It’s not particularly anything material even though the Lord wishes for His children to have an abundant life. It has more to do with the righteousness that we have through Christ, the peace and joy through the Holy Spirit living on the inside of every Christian. The Lord makes it extremely clear to us that we will go through tribulation in this World; there is no getting around it, John 16:33.

The question is how do you respond and react when the storms of life threaten to quench your faith. True joy is apparent when you can find happiness in your heart when you are really going through some things. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. There is no way that your carnal mind would be able to find joy when everything around you is falling apart.

Picture it: you come out of this and then here comes that and there seems to be no end in sight! How can one find joy and peace in the middle of something like that? The only true way that you can have joy inside your heart when you are faced with trials that threaten to take you out is if the Holy Spirit is primarily residing in your heart.

Going back to the Scripture mentioned in Romans, Paul is telling us that the joy and peace is through the Holy Spirit. The more that you spend quality time in the Word of God, prayer, praise, and worship the more room you are making for the Holy Spirit to move and operate in your life. Remember He is our Helper (John 14:26) and He gives us power to overcome the things that we go through in life.

That is why it is so significant to build a firm foundation on the Lord and His Word so that when those storms hit, because they will, they will not take you out. The Bible is saturated with God’s promises to us including when we are going through trials and tribulations. He is our joy in the midst of adversity as long as we can keep our focus on Him and not let the enemy hinder our vision.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

This Hymn created by the prophet Habakkuk is the epitome of having absolute faith in the Lord and His promises. He is disclosing to us that there was a season that he went through in his life that he was literally stripped bare. He was without fruit from the fig tree, without fruit from the vines, he had no livestock, and there was no food in the fields.

Yet, he was so satisfied to have the Lord in his heart that he was able to rejoice with pure joy not knowing what tomorrow would bring. He knew that God was his strength and was able to rest peacefully in that assurance. In our finite minds a scenario like this is truly hard to comprehend but if you have the Holy Spirit living strongly inside of you then you can relate to this feeling.

This particular fruit of the Spirit is one that can only truly be demonstrated if you have the Holy Spirit in your heart. Otherwise, the adversities of this World will cause you to become bitter, fearful, and terrified on what is going to happen to you next. You best believe the enemy will use these vulnerable moments to try to shoot fiery flames of doubt in your mind that God isn’t Who He says He is.

I can remember a time in my life when I was a single mother caring for my son alone and the job that I was working at released a lot of people including myself due to a downsize in the company. At that moment I didn’t allow any doubt or fear to creep into my mind, I stood on the promises of the Lord that He was my Provider.

Even when it seemed like there wasn’t going to be a job soon enough, I held on to my faith. I had seen the Lord bring me through the most tumultuous storms that I had ever had to face. There was no way that I was going to begin to doubt Him now! I actually had a peace and joy in heart during this entire circumstance. Sure enough, the Lord provided for me right on time and He continues to do so till this day!

James 1:2-3

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

I remember when I first read this verse of Scripture written by James, I was like James really? How am I supposed to count my situation as joy when I am going through various trials? He is not just referring to one trial he is distinctly referencing the word various or “many.” I had to take a deep dive into this Scripture to truly understand what the Lord was trying to say to me.

James through the leading of the Holy Spirit is talking about how your trial and tribulation is going to produce patience. The way that it does is because you are not always going to know when your situation is going to get better. In fact, many times the Lord will be silent during your adversity. You will be completely left in the dark.

So, I had to ask myself how does a scenario like that produce joy? The message that James is trying to deliver is the fact that as Christians we should find it a complete Blessing that we even have the opportunity to have faith to be tested in the first place. Faith signifies a relationship with Christ.

As you begin to mature spiritually, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you every day, you should want to continue to grow as a believer of Jesus Christ. Just like how you pass on to another level in school by passing a written test, the same applies when you are moving up to another level in the Kingdom of God. It will require your faith to be tested.

Joy should infiltrate your heart as you go through your various trials because you know that the Lord is shaping and molding you into the image of Christ. The only way that this can even be a possibility is if the Holy Spirit is residing in your heart. If not, it is going to be extremely difficult to see the positive aspects in your challenging situation.

This is particularly the case when it is one storm after another after another. A person’s faith can really be tested when they are being tried by the fire. The Lord wants to know: do you really trust Him when there seems to be no way, do you believe that He is the God that provides, and do you truly believe that the joy of the Lord is your strength?

Conclusion

One of the most important fruits of the Spirit is joy. The only way that you can truly have the type of joy that it will take to get through some of the trials and tribulations that you will go through is by the help of the Holy Spirit. The fact of the matter is, we are all going to go through the storms of life and how you handle them when they hit will make all the difference.

The enemy would love to see you in a vulnerable state where your faith is destroyed. The devil is a liar! Use your adversities to strengthen you and spiritually mature you as a believer of Jesus Christ. In order to develop you have to be stretched and put in situations that make you uncomfortable.

The Lord will test your faith because He needs to make sure that you are going to be able to handle the next level that He wants to take you to. See your trials as ways for you to improve, grow patience, and develop the necessary tools needed to succeed. Let the Spirit of God help you establish the unspeakable joy that you won’t be able to explain even if you tried.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

The Fruit of the Spirit (Love)

Overcoming the Spirit of Fear-Part 1

Overcoming the Spirit of Fear-Part 2

Power of Prayer (The Family Unit and Intercessory Prayer)

Power of Prayer (Praying in Your Heavenly Language)

Power of Prayer (Principles of Prayer)

Power of Prayer (Praying the Scriptures)

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles