Daily Devotional For Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Good morning Southside. I hope your week is off to a great start. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and today it seems so many people, even Christians are joyless. I don’t intend to list all the reasons, but simply to state that maybe the main reason there is no joy is because there is no Lordship of Christ in these Christians. According to Galatians 5:22-23, joy is a fruit the Holy Spirit produces. Meaning we can’t.
On Jesus’ last night before He was arrested, crucified and died, John records that Jesus prayed this for His disciples and us in John 17:13, “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves” (NASB). So, let’s put this in a broader context. Jesus is about to die and what is utmost on His mind is our joy. You know the story. He is about to be beaten to within inches of losing His life and then crucified as a criminal by Rome and Israel. Joy – that is what was on His mind?
Jesus actually spoke about joy many times. Look at these verses below where Jesus said this:
John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (NASB).
Luke 15:3-7, “So He told them this parable, saying, (4) ‘What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (5) When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ (7) I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (NASB).
Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (NASB).
In John 13-17, this is a time of great grief for Jesus. He is first in the Upper Room with His disciples. They are clueless about the events which are about to unfold. He has told them repeatedly, but they, like so many of us, only hear what they want to hear. If you have ever been around someone who is dying, their “last words,” become important and significant to you.
In those moments, people who find themselves in this situation, often say things to their loved ones they should have been saying all along. They can be worried and concerned that the loved ones they are leaving behind will be okay. Unfortunately for some, it is a time of great regret. The reality that they have no more time, hits them like a ton of bricks. Dying with regrets is a horrible way to die. What should have been and could have been is now dying with them.
For Jesus, He has no regrets. He has spent three years teaching, equipping and preparing His disciples for this moment. This is why His joy is full even knowing the horrible events that are about to happen. Which means that even in challenging, hurtful, and dark times, we can still have joy. As opponents and distractors hammered Nehemiah rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, Nehemiah reminded those rebuilding the wall this in Nehemiah 8:10b, “. . . for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (NASB). Not the joy of yourself is your strength, BUT the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Less I seem callous, I am not implying that we should never feel grief, heartache or sadness. We can either let our situation define us or we can let our Savior define us in those situations. A good example is when the disciples are arrested and thrown into prison. Acts 5:41 records their response and attitude > “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council (Sanhedrin), rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (NASB).
Questions To Consider
- Do you live a life that demonstrates consistently that the “joy of the Lord is your strength?” Why or why not? If not, what needs to change immediately?
- Why do you think Jesus could be joyful and want joy for His disciples knowing what was about to unfold?
- If the Holy Spirit is not producing joy in your life, why do you think that is so?
- When situations “go south” for you, do you focus more on the situations or on letting the joy of the Lord be your strength? Why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Hebrews 12:2, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please help me to let the joy of the Lord be my strength in all situations. Thank You for enduring the cross for me with joy knowing that one day I would Your disciple. Please forgive me when I whine and complain. Please produce in me Your joy, which goes beyond all understanding. I love You Jesus, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly