The joy of the Lord is our strength (see Nehemiah 8:10). While it is part of the fruit of the Spirit, the experience of joy is greatly enhanced through obedience to the Lord. John 15:10-11 If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. Understand you can never earn joy, because it is something you receive through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, people confuse obedience with works. As a result, they put themselves in religious bondage and lose sight of joy. Remember, obedience is belief with the intent to conform to the desires of God out of love. That means everything we do is centered around Him in order to please Him. When we believe God, we will believe and obey His word. This is where faith comes into the equation.
We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (see Romans 10:17). Hearing the voice of God gives us something to obey. In order for something to be an act of faith (obedience), hearing must be involved. Faith pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6), and it leaves the control in His hands. We cannot do those things we concoct, while calling it faith, and hope that it is well-pleasing to Him. The idea is to please Him; not ourselves. If you sense the Lord leading you in one direction, but you decide you have a better idea, don’t expect joy to bubble up from your heart. Likewise, if you begin to do a lot of church work as it were, without His leading, burn out will soon follow. If one decides to disobey outright, joy will not be the experience he or she enjoys.
Agendas play a big role in experiencing joy the way God intended.
If we have an agenda that contradicts His will or ways, we will be hard pressed to find joy giving us strength to carry it out. By the way, the Lord Himself is also our strength, and if He is not in what we’re doing, how do we expect to carry it out? It is not wrong to have personal desires. In fact, God places many of those desires in our heart as we delight in Him. The difficulty lies in those desires that are contrary to His nature or go against His will. He may allow you to have your way, but don’t confuse that with His perfect will. Sometimes, He’ll let us have it our way, and face the consequences of our decisions. Some agendas do not lead to the desired results. It’s called correction or discipline. When things go awry due to stubbornness, some will blame God for their folly. “I was following God’s will and look where it got me!” Just because they “asked” the Father, it does not mean He said yes, because “yes” was the only option they would accept. Basically, they made a decision to act, and insisted on God’s stamp of approval. Because they talked to God, they assumed it was okay. They took the monologue approach. They asked, but they did not listen for a response. Dialogues work a whole lot better if one is to expect good communication. Listening well increases the probably that miscommunication will be avoided. Please, if you put yourself in a bad position, don’t blame God. Just stop what you’re doing, repent (rethink and change your mind), and ask God for forgiveness. Ask Him for wisdom and let Him lead you where He desires. Joy will follow.
If you want more about waking with joy, you can find it in The Art of Blessing
