E19 - Joy in the Lord - Do you want it?

Hope's Harbor Podcast - Gritty Bible Devotions

Love is such a powerful force, and Paul believed that the Holy Spirit was responsible for giving this love to Christians. The first of nine virtues listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 are "charity," or better known as agape Love. This kind of true selfless unconditional love stands out when you think about how different it can be from your relationship with others while not being filled with charity - people may see us more as acquaintances than friends because they don't really know who we are deep down inside; if there's no mutual respect then there's likely little to nothing at all driving our interactions together other than familiarity alone.

What would happen if we had more opportunities for experiencing real joy? Think about what life might look like. I've discovered a lot of joy comes from loving others and being loved. And this is not easy.
Full show notes on hopesharbor.net
Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions

Episode #19

Title: Joy in the Lord – Do you want it?

Date: August 9, 2021

Contact: [e-mail]

Key verse(s): John 15:11- "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Chara khar-ah' From G5463; cheerfulness, that is, calm delight:

Intro: In Galatians 5:22-23Paul listed 9 virtues of the Holy Spirit imparted to Christians. The 1st one listed is love, and think about it, we have love, that is love given to us from GOD, and the love we have for others. It stands to reason joy will come out of this love.

What if love is missing in our lives? What if everyone we know is more acquaintance than a friend and the relationship is not based in love, either their love for us or our love to them

Can we still have joy? Let me read through the virtues listed in Galatians and I want you to think about the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us, especially when He comes to set us apart for GOD.

Gal 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Gal 5:23 - gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Devotion focus:

· How to have joy regardless of other relationships or circumstances

Now, when I typed this out I knew I would have a difficult time convincing someone in terrible circumstances that they too may have joy.

And then I remembered it’s not my responsibility to convince anyone of anything in these devotions. It’s GOD’s place to convince people of His truth as revealed in the Bible.

Having said that I recognize I have a responsibility to present GOD’s truth clearly so I don’t cause confusion or doubt to enter.

With GOD’s help, I’ll try my best to present this devotion about joy edged with feelings of my own joy.

I’ll confess right here that feelings of joy come and go with circumstances when I’m distracted or frustrated. This is my normal experience with feeling joy.

Let me stop here and ask you: what are you feeling right this moment concerning joy?

Before going further let me caution you not to try to fake it with a false smile. Be real with yourself. It’s okay; no one will know when you’re honest with yourself.

If you discover that feeling joy is rarely your experience then you’re in good company.

So what can we do to feel joy or joyfulness at times? A look at Biblical joy Jesus said He gives will be helpful, and then we’ll look at ways to bring about this wonderful promise of Jesus by which to partake of His joy.

An important point: The joy Jesus gives is founded on love.

First, when I asked earlier what if love is missing from our lives how can we have joy - follow this closely: love on

Show notes at HopesHarbor.net