FOOD FOR TEENS: JOY (The Underrated)

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My beloved teens, welcome to the month of April. We bless God for His goodness and mercy towards us this year. I will like to bring to your awareness the power of “JOY (The Underrated).

There is an aspect of Christian life that is not getting the attention that it deserves. People talk about holiness, peace, faith, love but hardly have you heard people talk about joy, but joy is one of the most vital aspects of the Christian life. In Galatians 5:22, we were told that the fruit of the Spirit is love, Joy, peace…. You could see that immediately after love you find joy.

A lot of Christians unconsciously think that to be joyful always is not a quality of a strong Christian. We usually equate joy to un-seriousness, the Bible talked about been sober. Someone will ask how can I be sober at the same time walk in Joy because we are told in scriptures to rejoice evermore. Ephesians 5:18-19 perfectly explains that, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” The above scripture tells us not to seek for joy from alcohol or other earthly pleasures which is represented by alcohol but for us to be filled with the spirit which gives birth to joy in our inner being leading to hymns and making melody in our hearts.

So to be sober means to be joyful in the Lord as opposed to be sad and gloom because the Bible tells us to watch and be sober, there’s no way you spend time in watching by meditating God’s word and praying and enjoying God’s presence and still be gloom and down because the Bible tells us in Psalm 16:11b, “In thy presence is fullness of joy.”

The Roles of Joy in the Life of a Believer

1. You need joy to truly receive anything from God. Isaiah 12:2-3, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song: he also is become salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” A man or a woman cannot receive anything from God without joy because the joy of the Lord is the strength you need to draw out of the wells of salvation.

2. Joy acts as an indicator to know our spiritual state. Nehemiah 8:10c, “Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Whenever a believer starts to lose that joy that comes with fellowship, that inner assurance that God can’t fail. It is a sign that something isn’t right with that believer. 2nd Corinthians 13:5 tells us to “examine ourselves whether ye be in faith…,” and one major criteria to determine this is the joy of the Lord.

3. We need joy to praise God; true praises and worship to God usually comes from a heart of joy. How can you make melody in your heart to God when there’s no joy? (Ephesians 5:19).

4. The first way through which the love of God is expressed is through joy. Galatians 5:22 talks about the fruit of the Spirit which is love and the first way it is manifested is through joy. You cannot express love without joy.

5. Joy is an indicator faith, John 16:24, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full.” When we ask God in prayer and keep asking, it is better to keep praying until there is either specific answer to that request or there is a note of Joy (victory) in your heart by the Holy Ghost. This indicates that the will of God has been done in that situation which makes it easier for that believer to get up from that place of prayer with confidence that all things will work together for his or her good.

6. Joy helps you know a place where God is. (Psalm 16:11b), “In thy presence is fulness of joy.” You go to a place even in religious gatherings and you see strife and confusion there and no joy. Just know that God does not dwell there.

7. Joy brings prosperity (Joel 1:12), “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the tress of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” Where there’s the joy of the Lord, the devil can’t inhabit and that person or group of persons is bound to prosper.

HOW DO I GET THIS JOY

This joy is not based on this world, it is from within, it comes from the Holy Ghost, it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit therefore it can only be gotten by doing the following:

1. Study and meditating on God’s word regularly
2. Watching and praying in the Holy Ghost regularly
3. Obedience to God’s word 
When all these are done, joy becomes a part of you and the victory you desire will become yours in Jesus name. 
See you next month. God bless you.

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