Joy to the Lord

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,

    burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn — shout for joy before the Lord, the King."  Psalm 98:4-6

God's joy like His peace, is not like what the world expects.

Joy is not the absence of sickness, pain, troubles or heartaches. It is not a result of what is happening around us. Instead like God's peace, it is a by-product or a gift from God. One that we receive after being saved and forgiven.

It is something I cannot explain. But it is something you can share and experience for yourself. Receive it when you receive God's gift of grace and abide in His love.

Let us read how John explains this in John chapter 15: (Jesus speaking)

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature."