Has there ever been a time in your life that you literally leaped for joy? Reflect on that event.
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Luke 1:39-45
Most of us think of joy as something that periodically punctuates our life, but the Bible offers a different perspective. Acts 13:52 (NASB) says that “the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Is it hard for you to imagine being continually filled with joy? How is that even possible, given all the ups and downs in this fallen world?
We know from Galatians 5:22 that joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and that it is not necessarily a function of our circumstances, well-being, or comfort. It’s deeper than that. Amazingly, John the Baptist leaped for joy while still inside his mother’s womb! His joy was the sole result of his mother, Elizabeth, hearing the voice of pregnant Mary, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. That filling was so powerful, that not only did Elizabeth exclaim blessings upon Mary and Jesus, but so did her Spirit-filled unborn baby (see Luke 1:15)!
Our expressions of joy are often muted and dulled by personal inhibitions, social pressure, familiarity of biblical truth, or simply because we’re not continually filled with the Holy Spirit, as Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be. Many Christians have a hard time even smiling in public, because it’s just not a cultural norm to do so. Joylessness is terribly contagious, but fortunately, so is joyfulness!
Will you choose to walk in the joy that God has purchased for you at so high a cost, or act as though it’s really not that big a deal?
Reflect
Are you an emotional chameleon, conforming to your surroundings, or do you live by faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to transform the mood of your surroundings?
Does your heart leap for joy when your Savior draws near? What things inhibit you the most when it comes to expressing your joy more fully and consistently?
Psalm 16:11 says that in God’s presence is “fullness of joy.” In prayer, acknowledge God’s presence and take time to enjoy it! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, yield your control to him, and express your joy to God for Jesus leaving heaven and coming to save you from your sins. (Hint: It should far exceed your expression of joy when your favorite team wins the Super Bowl!)
