Benefits of Joy

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What are the benefits of Joy? What advantages are there in happiness? If you are searching for the answer to these questions or something similar, we have you covered. Joy is a Spiritual commodity with an endless benefits. Anywhere you turn in this world, you will see the benefits of Joy. In a time and season when the whole world is going through some challenges, major businesses around the world are shutting down due to economic recession, can someone have a reason to be joyful? The answer is yes. In this post, I want to take you on an adventure into the world of joy. We shall consider the meaning of joy, the consequences of lack of joy, the benefits of Joy and how to sustain your joy to keep it ever fresh. Read every detail to the end of this post, you will get value. 

What is Joy?

Joy is not a natural phenomenon. It is not consistent in the natural unreborn man. Joy is the fruit or character of the recreated human spirit ( Gal 5:22). It is the nature of the spirit that is reflected in the life of a new creature in Christ. It is a heavenly attitude that culminates in a positive, grateful, cheerful and happy mood, regardless of situations around the person. While happiness is a natural phenomenon, joy is a fruit of the spirit. Happiness and joy are not the same thing. While happiness is conditional and dependant on a positive happening or situation, joy is unconditional and flows from within. When you get a job in an oil company you become happy but when you lose your job, you get angry and sad. Joy is not like that. 

While happiness comes and goes based on the situation or happenings in the life of the person, the true joy in the Holy Ghost is consistent, unconditional and flows from the spirit. 

CONSEQUENCES OF LACK OF JOY

1. When Your joy dries up, your entire life and destiny will dry up

"The vine is dried up, and the fig  tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree  also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field,  are withered: because joy is withered away from the  sons of men." Joel 1:12

Many people are going to dryness in their business, marriage, finances, ministry and Spiritual life without knowing why. It can be as a result of dryness of joy in their hearts. When your joy withers away, nothing else can stand. Everything will start withering. Wilderness experience in the lives of many people today is as a result of the fact that they allowed their joy to wither away. 

2. Lack of Joy can jeopardize your health

"A merry heart doeth  good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the  bones." Prov 22:17

Many sickness and diseases people are suffering today can be attributed to long seated bitterness and sorrow in their hearts. Heart attack, high blood pressure, and other terrible health conditions are not too far where joy is absent. A man or woman who does not know joy nor has it, may never be free from some of these health challenges. Lack of joy can dry someone's bones and flesh. It can reduce a man to a skeleton, so much that no matter what  he eats, it won't show in his body. 

STRATEGIES THE DEVIL USES TO STEAL PEOPLE'S JOY

There are many loopholes through which the devil comes in to steal people's joy. I have to list them here so you can guard against them. They are:

1. Excessive Worry

2. Ingratitude

3. Financial hardship

4. Marital/family problems

5. Carnality

6.  Demonic oppression

7. Sin

8. Sickness and Diseases

9. Depression

Benefits of Joy

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There are many benefits that joy brings in the life of a child of God. They are more than what I can write in few lines, let's consider some of them below.

1. Joy qualifies you to receive the dividends of Redemption- Isaiah 12:3

One of the benefits of Joy in the life of a believer is that it empowers you to receive the dividends of your redemption. There are people who claim to be saved but there's nothing redemption represents that is visible in their lives. One of the ministries of joy in the kingdom is to empower the believer to receive the full package of salvation. Redemption comes with divine health, supernatural protection, financial Prosperity, favour, fruitfulness and other spiritual blessings. The channel through which we draw all these blessings (7 Fold Blessings of Redemption) is joy. Without joy, one may be born again without any good thing to show for his or her salvation.

2. Joy is the True Strength of the Believer- Neh 8:10

One of the benefits of Joy is the fact that it makes a child of God to be strong. When you are joyful, you are powerful. When you are sad or depressed, you are weak. Joy is the strength of the child of God. When you are joyful on your inside, you are full of strength and confidence to face any challenge that may come your way. But when you lack joy, you are Spiritually and emotionally weak no matter how strong you are physically. 

3. Joy commits God to multiply and glorify the believer- Jer 30:19

Until you become a joyful person, you cannot become a glorious person. God only multiplies the joyful. Where there's no joy, there's no glory. Greatness and increase come where the joy of the lord is resident. When you rejoice in the lord, He will cause His glory and increase to come on your life and destiny. Joy is the lighter of the saints. You can't have joy and won't have His glory and multiplication. 

4. Joy empowers you to live the kingdom lifestyle- Rom 14:17

One of the benefits of Joy is that it helps you to practically live the lifestyle of the kingdom and practice the culture of heaven on earth. The major culture of the kingdom of heaven is joy. There's no sorrow in heaven. Interestingly, heaven is described as the city of joy. If you want to live the life of heaven on earth, joy is the way to go. Every kingdomite is a joyful person. One mark of a life that has been infused with the reality of the kingdom of God is joy. 

5. Joy enables you to live in peace with yourself and other people- Rom 15:13

The secret of living in peace with oneself and others is to have the joy of the lord. No one can please you when you don't have joy within you your heart. Joy helps us to become a peaceful and cheerful people even in a hostile and unfriendly world. 

6. Joy is an instrument of divine vengeance against the enemy- Psalms 149:5-9

One of the benefits of Joy is that joy is a Spiritual instrument of divine Vengeance and Judgement the believer can use against the devil and his cohorts. That's why Satan doesn't like to see God's people exuding any form of joy. One of the greatest targets of the devil is to steal the joy of the Saints. That is why he is always fighting against their Jobs, business, finances, marriage and family. The truth you must know as a child of God is that the devil doesn't want you to have any kind of joy in your heart. The enemy knows the disaster you can cause to him and his kingdom when you express the joy of the lord daily everywhere you go. Joy is like a two-edge sword. It can cut the enemy into pieces. When you want to bastardize the devil, lampoon his strategies and preposterously destroy his weapons, walk in the joy of the Lord. The joy of the lord is powerful. It's like a warrior's chain, you can bind the enemy with joy. 

7. Joy helps the believer to love God more- 1 Peter 1:8

Where your joy ends is where your love will end. Only a joyful Soul can become a true lover of God. No one has seen God before with his or her optical eyes. We believe in God through faith but it is our joy that empowers that faith to become a loving force which invariably fills our lives with glory. A bitter and depressed individual cannot fully love God nor serve Him as he ought to. What oil is to your car engine, that's what joy is to your human spirit. If you want to serve God without friction and be on fire for God, turn on your joy in the Lord. It will keep you going forward and upward regardless of challenges around your life.

What is the Source of the Joy of the Believer?

What is our joy in the kingdom? What's the basis for the joy of a child of God? The joy of the believer finds it's root in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not rejoicing because of the material blessings we get from God. That's not why we are happy. Our joy in Christ is not based on the money we have, nor our fleet of cars, nor our luxury houses, nor our beautiful spouse and children. Our joy is based on the fact that we are born again and have Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Savior. We have joy that the world cannot give. The world can give everything except one thing which is the joy of the lord. We are rejoicing not because we don't have physical challenges, our joy is based on the fact that our names are written in the book of life. We rejoice because even though our outward man perish, our innerman is renewed daily in the image of Him who created him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the source of our Joy ( Luke 10:20, Ephesians 2:14)

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How to Sustain Your Joy in the Lord

It is becoming increasingly difficult for many to maintain their joy in our turbulent society. Many people are going crazy day by day due to the things they hear, see and feel about themselves. But it's possible to maintain a joyful spirit regardless of what happens. Below are scriptural principles that can help you to maintain and sustain your joy in the Lord.

1. Maintain regular fellowship in God's Presence- Psalms 16:11

The presence of God is a catalyst for joy. When you become an addict of staying in God's presence regularly, you can not lose your joy. There's joy in the presence of the Lord. That's why you need to be going to church. Anything that can stop you from going to church can actually rob you of your joy. When notice any sign of depression or sorrow in your life, get yourself into the presence of God and His joy will fill your soul. In His presence, there's fullness of joy and at His right hand, there are pleasures for ever more. 

2. To Maintain Your Joy, study and meditate on the word of God regularly - Jer 15:16

One of the authentic ways to sustain your joy in a world that is full of troubles is to keep feeding your spirit with the word of God. The more you eat and chew the word, the more your joy will keep flowing. Just like the end product of the digestion of carbohydrate is glocose, the end product of the spiritual digestion of the word of God is joy. When you notice bitterness and depression, it's a sign that your word-bank is empty. Go for the word of God, it will fill your heart with joy.

3. Cultivate a close relationship and fellowship with the Holy Spirit -Psalm 46:4

One of the assignments of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is to generate joy within his heart. The Spirit is called the Spirit of joy. The Holy Ghost is always glad and excited. You can't see Him moody or depressed. When you give the Spirit full attention and submission, He will fill your life with joy unspeakable. We can sustain our joy in the lord by maintaining a close relationship and fellowship with the Holy Spirit daily. 

4. Cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude - James 1:2

One of the ways to maintain your joy in the midst of troubles is to cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude. No matter what happens, be grateful to God. No matter what you lose, thank God you haven't lost it all. No matter what you don't have, thank God for the little things you have today by the mercy of God. Gratitude is the secret to keeping our joy in the lord.

5. Make it a Habit to be joyful at all Times - Phil 4:4

To maintain your joy, you need to make it a Habit to rejoice always. Yes, whether good or bad, in plenty and in lack. You have to be deliberate and intentional if you want to be happy in this world. You have to make a choice between being sad and being happy at all times. You need to decide to be happy regardless of your situations. Make up your mind that nothing can ruin your happiness. Safeguard your joy with intentional living.

Conclusion

The benefits of Joy cannot be over-emphasized. I believe that as our faces are different, that's how our challenges and troubles differ. Every human has his own battles and struggles. The difference is our mindset and attitude towards our challenges. There is no special problem in this world. If we can have the right attitude towards our challenges, victory will be sure at last. 

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