Joy. What a great word. Joy is the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune. It is also the emotion that comes by the prospect of possessing what one desire. Joy is delighting in something or someone. Think of the first time you held your child in your arms, your wedding day, or that promotion you attained after all the hard work you put in week after week.
Paul follows up the first fruit of the Spirit, love, with joy. To experience joy, we must know love. None of us can be truly joyful without experiencing love. Love brings us joy. Through joy we can fully experience the inner-goodness of God and the inner-goodness of the people in our lives. We can rejoice about the inner-goodness God has bestowed upon us through faith and grace. You see that’s where the fruit of the Spirit stems from…grace and faith. We need God’s grace and we must have faith if we are truly going to abundantly experience all that the Lord has to offer. What a great feeling joy is!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
I’ve heard it said that God delights in us when we are most satisfied in Him. He takes joy in us being fulfilled by Him. God rejoices when we choose to join Him in the work He is doing all around us. He delights in us when we seek to live our lives according to His will and purpose for our lives.
What are things that bring you joy?
Heavenly Father, thank you for the joy You give us. We live our best life when we remain totally satisfied in You. What a delight it is to serve You. What a joy it is to be loved by You. You are SO good to us. Amen.
The Devotional Guy™
The Devotional Guy™ 
I really appreciate this series, man. Especially the morning and evening prayers as they’re getting me to remember my need to give thanks. I tend to want to drive the bus, and that never ends well. Thank you.
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Thanks brother. I’m encouraged that you are finding these posts helpful. It’s really just something God laid on my heart so I thought I’d give it a try and see if I could shine some light into the world and shower a bit of love on people. As always, thanks for reading.
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Well I’m glad God did, because I needed it, brother. God Bless.
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