I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Where?
Down in my heart, down in my heart.
I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Down in my heart to stay!
That’s a chorus I remember singing as a young girl in Sunday School. Little did I realize that the stories I was learning about Jesus and His love for me were planting seeds of joy in my heart.
“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV
Joy: to experience great pleasure or delight : REJOICE.
I can hear someone asking, “Kristi, do you expect me to be happy all the time? That’s just not possible.”
Let’s let the Bible answer that question.
“Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord. Again I say, be full of joy!” Philippians 4:4 NLV
“Or the one who hates me will say, ‘I have power over him.’ And those who hate me will be happy when I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in Your loving-kindness. My heart will be full of joy because You will save me. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because He has been good to me.” Psalm 134:4-6 NLV
“Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLV
“ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. See! I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people. 11 Today, One Who saves from the punishment of sin has been born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 NLV
“You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.” Psalm 16:11 NLV
“ The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song. ” Psalm 28:7 NLV
We can be joy-full when people hate us or when they treat us badly. Joy is not predicated on our outward circumstances. It is a condition of the heart.
“ For every tree is known by its own fruit. Men do not gather figs from thorns. They do not gather grapes from thistles. 45 Good comes from a good man because of the riches he has in his heart. Sin comes from a sinful man because of the sin he has in his heart. The mouth speaks of what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:44-45 NLV
When we plant seeds of joy because we belong to the Lord and dwell in His presence, our heart will produce joy no matter the circumstance.
I looked up the word joy in the NLV, New Living Version, this morning and found 444 verses on joy. That’s a lot of seed and it will produce a big harvest. Time to start planting.