JOY PERSONIFIED!

When you see me or any true believer of Christ, you should see joy! Joy isn’t a feeling that comes when something good happens; joy is a fruit of our born-again spirits because something good did happen! JESUS has set the captives free!!! I once heard someone say that true happiness comes from being successful in life. Well, as much as success does bring some sort of satisfaction to one’s soul every now and again (depending on how you define success), it is only a temporary fix if it isn’t centered on Jesus Christ.

The bible says that;

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

– John 3:16 (ESV)

Emphasis on the word “gave“. It’s so beautiful to read and know for certain without any iota of doubt that GOD LOVES US, but I’d like to focus on the gifts GOD has given us. GOD gave us Jesus Christ as the ultimate propitiation of our sins. Oh, what a beautiful gift our LORD & SAVIOR truly is. GLORY!!! But that’s NOT all! GOD gave us His Holy Spirit – the source of all our unending joy in Christ our LORD. Isn’t that wonderful?! But wait; there’s more! GOD gave us spiritual gifts along with His Holy Spirit.

The bible says in 1st Corinthians 12 that;

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

– 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)

Wait…what??! So GOD gave me all these gifts asides from the gift of salvation, THE HOLY SPIRIT and eternal life? YES!!! And… (you guessed it), there’s more;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

– Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)

HALLELUJAH!!! This is or rather, these are reasons why every believer and Christian should always be filled with great joy irrespective of what our present situations or circumstances may be, because the bible says that;

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

– Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

This is just fantastic! We have THE HOLY SPIRIT living inside of us, which bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of GOD (Romans 8:16), and this same Majestic Spirit whom GOD uses to gift us spiritual gifts doesn’t just bear witness with our spirits, but bears fruit in our spirits. For it is written;

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

– Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

The love of GOD is a ‘gift‘ that keeps on giving! The love of GOD is overwhelmingly beautiful in all its splendor, and the gift of grace is why being joyful isn’t just a feeling of happiness or euphoria, but a result of the abundance of grace and love upon our lives.

I remember when I was lost to the  lusts of this world. I seldom found joy in its vanities therein. I was searching for love and validation in the wrong places. I was looking to buy that which was already freely given to me in abundance. Coming to the realization that Christ is King and that because of Him, I am guaranteed eternal life gives me so much confidence and joy that I have began to celebrate the KING of Kings everyday in my life via my renewed lifestyle. True success in life comes only when we discover who we truly are in Christ and live to the fulfillment of His purpose for our lives. I am so past the point of basing my happiness on materialistically-perishable things I may or may not possess. I am NOT swayed by what & how the world defines success and happiness. I HAVE THE SOURCE OF ALL JOY LIVING WITHIN ME FOREVERMORE! I do not need to try to be happy because in reality, I AM JOY PERSONIFIED!

As you move on in life, let this reality dawn on you today and always. Let these truths find a permanent resting place in your hearts, just as THE HOLY SPIRIT takes permanent residency in your spirits. There is no greater joy than knowing that the creator of all existence LOVES YOU and has sacrificed His very essence just so we could all have a place in His eternal Kingdom. There is no greater substantiation of hope than the reality that we have been given THE HOLY SPIRIT as a down-payment to assure us that WE ALREADY HAVE A PERMANENT PLACE IN HEAVEN. As Christians and as believers in Jesus Christ, we are NOT unsure of our eternal destinies, but rather, we are certainly certain that when Jesus comes to take His beloved home, we will join Him in His Glory and ascend to our final destination wherewith we are co-heirs of His Kingdom.

Friends, let the joy of The LORD be more than your strength. Let it be your everyday experience because this kind of joy is contagious and provokes the type of faith that not only moves mountains but generates boldness to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and save lives that may have already been lost to sin and death. Our joyful reaction births a chain-reaction of events that ultimately leads souls to Jesus. This kind of joy is not one we should keep to ourselves. We need to tell it to the whole world until everyone is saved and have come to the knowledge of Christ our King.

I encourage everyone reading this article to glory in The LORD – the joy of our salvation. GLORY!!!

– Aniré Okene