Many of us struggle to believe that natural (supernatural) joy can be real in our everyday lives. Although we see it throughout scripture, our circumstances tend to obliterate it from our daily sight. And even though we sing about it on Sunday morning, our lives don’t echo it on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. So, is joy really natural?
I recently wrote the article, Why We Need to Know If We are Starving for Joy. Inside, there is a list of 7 things scripture shows us about joy, which will serve as foundational truths for this series of articles. Because many of us have forgotten what joy is like, or don’t even realize we’ve lost it. So what does scripture promise, and how are we going to realize its promises?
Natural (Supernatural) Joy in Everyday Life
Joy Is Natural
Joyfulness is a response. It is both something we are given and something that is cultivated in us. Joy is what settles deep and spills out as we come face to face with the spiritual reality of our deliverance (1 Samuel 2:1), echoing the rejoicing expressed in heaven at the salvation of each believer (Luke 15:7).
Numerous words in Scripture translate as “joy”, including:
- ἀγαλλίασις (agalliasis) – exultation, exuberant joy
- χαρά (chara) – joy, delight, gladness
- חֶדְוָה (chedvah) – joy, rejoicing
- שָׂשׂוֹן (sason) – exultation, rejoicing
- שִׂמְחָה (simchah) – joy, gladness, mirth
Joy is the response and the reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Hebrew or Greek, each of these points to a variety of root words, and appears in different forms. But each one points to the responsive nature of joy. Among many other things, our joy may be in response to God’s presence (Psalm 16:11), strength (Psalm 21:1), salvation (Psalm 51:12, Isaiah 12:3), or favor (Psalm 30:5). It can be in response to his provision (Ecclesiastes 9:7, Luke 1:14), protection (Isaiah 35:10), family (Acts 2:46), Son (Hebrews 1:9), purification (Jude 1:24), or his Word (Isaiah 52:12).
The undergirding essence of all of these joyful reactions is exuberance. In each case, joy sort of explodes, unable to be contained. This is in stark contrast to the kind of anemic, sedate joy described by many Christians, which is often separated entirely from emotions. Our emotions absolutely are intertwined with natural, responsive joy. If we aren’t experiencing exuberant joy in response to all that God is, perhaps our joy is not yet natural.
Joy is Supernatural
Joy is only natural to people whose nature is being transformed, because our actual nature is corrupted by sin (Jeremiah 17:9, Ephesians 2:3). Without Christ, we are turned inward, blind to God, and unable to respond to Him. We cannot experience true joy. We need the supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit to be truly joyful.
The one who has received God’s incredible gift of grace has come alive. Now, we are gardens to be cultivated by the indwelling Spirit of God. We are rich earth to be tilled, seeded, watered, and tended, ultimately on a trajectory towards Christlikeness.
Joy is second in the list of fruit named in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:22). He says joy is one of the things that grows naturally in the person who has nailed his or her fleshly desires to the cross of Christ. And the gentle cultivation of the Spirit towards the things of God and away from our former passions yields fruit that is alive and growing, colorful and healthy.
As we partner with the Garden-keeper, our joy becomes vibrant, noticeable, and unable to be contained! We can count on it to flourish when roots are dug deep in faith.
Assurance is the fruit that grows out of the root of faith. (Stephen Charnock)
Cultivating Natural (Supernatural) Joy
So what do we do if our joy has faded? Is there hope for the Jesus follower who just can’t seem to find joy in life anymore? I think there is! If joy is a natural response to the undeserved and unexplainable activity of God in our lives, but we are struggling to feel it, perhaps we have lost sight of Him. Maybe in the hectic nature of our schedules, the kind of disappointments life seems to deliver, or the treacherous path of the unexpected, we have diverted our eyes. Perhaps former desires have crept back in, and we have stopped co-operating with the Tender of our garden, so we are no longer flourishing and producing the fruit of joy. Allow the soil to be cultivated again.
1. Decide (choose)
After Jesus’ baptism and subsequent 40 days in the wilderness, he began his public ministry by opening the scroll and reading from Isaiah, the prophet. Isaiah’s prophecy, in full, had contained promises that Jesus would comfort those who grieve, replacing their sadness with the oil of joy and their despair with a garment of praise (Isaiah 61). Our first step in receiving the oil of joy where it has drained is in simply choosing to believe that Jesus has come to give it to us. We must decide to pursue it again. Jesus is the only one who can provide what we’ve lost. Do we really believe that?
If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere. (Billy Sunday)
Dear worn-out, discouraged, joy-seeking reader, may today be the day you decide whether Jesus meant what he said. Don’t leak anymore! Cup your hands to receive his oil of joy.
2. Renew (fill)
In the article 6 Joy Scriptures to Memorize this Month, I wrote about Paul’s encouragement that we renew our minds in the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). He said it will help us not to conform to the {joyless} patterns of the world. We tend to see everything through the lens of whatever we think about most. So God has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and it is his Word that is true (Psalm 33:4). It is alive and active, and has the power to expose our innermost thoughts and desires (Hebrews 4:12).
Even today, you can make a plan to search his Word, to meditate on it, memorize it, and to allow it to begin to knit itself into the fabric of your being. As you do, your oneness with God will move you towards complete joy (1 John 1:4). Decide today to let God minister to your weary soul. Let it renew your mind and change your perspective. Fill up!
3. Praise (pour)
Filling up necessitates pouring out; jars that are full can’t help but spill over. Exuberance characterizes authentic joy, so make the choice today to start letting it out. Actively put on the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. Thank God, speak of him, sing of him, share his goodness with others. Look for #joysightings around you, and document them in photos, journals, and conversations. I guarantee that sharing out loud with God and with others about your gratitude for his goodness and grace will simultaneously fill you with even more joy, because gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. This is a waterfall that replenishes itself as it pours!
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. (Melody Beattie)
Decide, Renew, and Praise
These three things will help the tired traveller begin to re-discover natural (supernatural) joy in his or her everyday life. Here is a free printable to help you start this journey of rediscovery. Jesus promises us natural (supernatural) joy. We can live it out loud! Will you join me?
In the comments below, let us know how you are rediscovering natural (supernatural) joy!
Elizabeth Joy
