We would always welcome the new year with joyous celebration because it signifies a new beginning, a new chapter in our lives. Sometimes, though, this joy is fleeting because circumstances come in and we are swayed with what is happening.
What should be our source of joy that is constant and cannot be swayed by any circumstances? The answer is of course Jesus Christ.
What does it mean that Jesus is our JOY?
J – Joy in Jesus is complete and eternal.
When we have Jesus, we have a kind of joy that is constant and also everlasting. No matter what are the circumstances that are happening around us, this joy is there.
But sometimes, we experience the loss of that joy. The problem is not in the side of Jesus but in us. The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 21:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
So, if you are feeling down, pray that God will restore that joy in your life.
O – Obedience to the commands of God will result into joy.
The commands of God in the Bible are not mere ideals but they are imperative commands that need to be followed. In Psalm 19:8, King David wrote, “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.”
Indeed, when we do what is right, it will surely result into joy. So, do not think that God’s commands are “kill joy” because it is difficult. Rather think that the commands of God, if obeyed, will result into joy in your life.
Y – Yield to God and you will experience joy.
It will always be a struggle to lead your own life. Our sinful nature tempts us to dictate our lives. Paul had this struggle as well. He wrote in Romans 7:18ff, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
Paul explained that there is a war within us. Even though we are wretched beings, God rescued us through Jesus Christ. So, let us surrender our lives to God. In doing so, we will have joy.
Have a joyous New Year! | NWI
