JOY

 By Rejoice Ikejiaku

"You no get joy" is one of the commonly used pidgin slang in Nigeria. It is used when an individual has no luck in achieving something and is therefore unhappy or when one's joy has been sapped to the barest minimum. It is seeming impossible for people to be joyful or at least happy due to the struggle and bustle of everyday life, but this is not God's plan for his children.

 Joy is the second fruit of the Spirit mentioned in the Scripture ( Galatians 5:22 ). This goes ahead to show that God does not delight in the agony of his children, but desires that they are joyful at all times and do not have to worry about a single thing. This is evident in his word in the book of Philippians 4:4-7. Verse 4 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice". Such emphasis on "Rejoice" would not come to play if he intended that his heirs be sad.

Having established that, it is crucial to know that though joy is free, it is not free. Joy comes with a price but not to worry, God's yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11: 28-30)

THE PRICE FOR JOY

No one would have thought that there was a price for joy, because we forget that nothing is free. If a thing is said to be free, check properly, someone paid for it and the recipient of such gift must not take it with levity. Hence, the price for joy would be discussed under God's already played role and our role as his children.

God sent his son Jesus Christ into the world to save mankind because of the love he has for us (John 3: 16). It is this sacrifice he made on the cross that paid for our joy. That death took away all our infirmities, guilt, shame and bad vices and now God's joy can radiate our hearts ( Isaiah 53: 5).

God has done us good but it does not stop at his part since this relationship is not one-sided. In biology, it would have the name "symbiotic relationship" except that he doesn't need us to be God but we surely need him to be us. The first thing we ought to do to have this fruit grow in us is to make the Holy Spirit functional in us. Most of us wonder why we are always sad and weighed down by the slightest storm, having no strength to defeat the evil one, forgetting that it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

The second point is that we must obey his word. This is very simple if we want it to do it. It is surprising how one cannot trust the word of his Father to the point of disobedience. Things that take away our joy have been handled already by our Father, but why is it so hard for us to just do what he says? Our father tells us not to be anxious about anything but that we should present our requests to him in everything, yet we worry proving that we rather take our own paths than listen to him. Obedience to God’s word is essential in experiencing joy.

CONCLUSION

When your frown supersedes your smile, it is obvious that you have disobeyed and not obeyed, you have doubted and not trusted. Worry and sadness can be seen on one's countenance and it takes conscious efforts to hide such, but joy that comes from the heart radiates not only your heart but the environment you tread upon. Why not accept the joy given out of love to you and spread that joy to others?

Question

Joy and Happiness are two related terms and are often misconstrued. How can you differentiate them?

(Not more than 100 words) Avoid plagiarism!

Send answers to this Whatsapp number 07031096273

Deadline for submission: Wednesday, 31st January 2024, on or before 3pm