Be the Joy of the Lord
In the days ahead, the joy of the Lord will be essential. This is not the same type of joy that is typical of human experience, which is gladness rooted in emotion or an event, but it’s My joy – the fruit of the spirit. It’s the kind of joy that is sourced from Me and found only in Me because it’s an attribute of who I am. It’s with this same joy that Jesus went to the cross. And although His task was difficult, it made Him glad to do so because of the promise of the finished work and the reason for it: redemption.
Know that what I am doing now also has a redemptive purpose, the harvest is on My mind. With this joy, I accomplish what needs to be done no matter how it looks. I judge with joy because My righteous justice brings forth repentance, reconciliation, and restoration. As those created in My image, I say to you ‘Be in My likeness!’ By My Spirit, I have given you My attributes, and if I am all those things and I am in you, then BE My joy! You will need this as it will strengthen you amidst the chaos and as things shift and shake on earth. Let the fruit of the spirit, joy, rule you. Let it overtake you and be the catalyst for your actions and speech.
Though the coming days may be challenging, go through them with the joy of the Lord; the joy that is felt because it carries with it My heart knowing that as My hand moves and shakes the foundations of the earth, there is a promise of great harvest and restoration on the other side.
Fully step into your identity and as you do, you will see your own thoughts change as you align more with My thoughts and My ways. Your perspectives will change as you step into mine, and you will see situations and atmospheres around you shift. As you step into being Joy, you will then be able to pour out the oil of joy on others as you now become a beacon of light and a bastion of hope in the darkest hours.
Activation: 1 Cor. 6:17 tells us that whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. This means that we can access His attributes so that they become ours as well. Meditate on the fruit of the spirit found in Gal. 5:22. Seek the Lord’s complete guidance on this asking Him to teach you His joy so that you can learn how it is different from the human experience. Then, ask the Lord to train you on how to embody the joy of the Lord.
Galatians 5:22-23 (TPT)
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
Nehemiah 8:10 (AMP)
…And do not be worried, for the joy of the LORD is your strength and your stronghold.
Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
