Joy that Overflows: Fruit of the Spirit
My 17-year-old daughter, Kate, was in Pittsburgh serving for a week with a global mission organization this summer.
Typically, her youth pastors don’t let the teens take their phones on their trips in an attempt to limit outside distractions. For some reason, this year they allowed the teens to have them. I wasn’t concerned about this for Kate because she’s hardly ever on her phone unless it’s to watch stupid reels on Instagram.
They arrived in Pittsburgh on Sunday evening and headed to their first site Monday morning.
I didn’t hear from Kate until Monday night, which also didn’t surprise me.
What did surprise me was the content of the text she sent Monday night. She said she had a good day, but she was a little disappointed because the camp they were serving at didn’t even know they were coming, was already overstaffed, and didn’t have anything for them to do.
While she was disappointed with the planning, her attitude was still good, and we figured it was just a communication/organization snafu.
No worries, right?
Tomorrow would be better.
I didn’t hear from her on Tuesday, so I just assumed all the chaos had cleared and they had fallen into a better rhythm.
On Wednesday, the youth leader sent a message in the parent group chat saying it had been a bit of a disastrous week, that they had organized their own mission work for Thursday, and that they would be coming home a day early.
Oh, dear.
Late Wednesday night, Kate texted to make sure I knew what was going on, but she didn’t really say much else.
I had no idea what we would be met with on Thursday evening when she came home.
As soon as she pulled into the driveway and got out of her car, she started laughing.
We headed to dinner, and she didn’t stop talking or laughing for a solid two hours.
Despite the organizational nightmare they had endured and the fact that the only mission work they actually completed was of their own doing, unbridled joy was seeping out of her as if it couldn’t be contained.
It was such an interesting response to such a frustrating week.
How was it possible that she was still so upbeat and joyful after dealing with trial after trial and frustration after frustration?
Why was I so surprised by her reaction?
We’ve all probably heard that Chuck Swindoll quote that “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” From a mental health and psychological standpoint, I’m not sure how entirely accurate that statement is, but I do know this: we don’t always choose our emotions, but we can choose our reactions.
For some crazy reason, Kate chose joy, and I think we can learn a thing or two from that reaction. I know I can!
Joy that Overflows
For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about the Fruit of the Spirit. In my first discussion in this series, I talked about the background and context of the Fruit of the Spirit. If you haven’t checked that out yet, I’d definitely suggest you do that before reading on. You can grab that article here:
https://kristenneighbarger.com/2023/07/05/whats-with-the-fruit-of-the-spirit-intro-context/
I love the way The Passion Translation discusses the different ways love can be seen in action. It reads like this:
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.
Galatians 5:22-23 (TPT)
Paul spent several paragraphs introducing this concept of what it looks like when we live guided by the Spirit instead of the self, and he concludes in these verses by giving some practical examples of what that Spirit-led existence and expression of agape love will look like in our lives.
If we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, our attitudes and lives should be filled with a joy that overflows–even in frustrating and chaotic situations.
I, for one, can honestly admit that I don’t always model that.
My go-to response for frustrating and chaotic situations is not typically one of overflowing joy!
No, my go-to response to these situations is typically more of angrily dissecting all the problems and identifying the incompetence that clearly could have been avoided–how very Jesus-like of me, right?
To be completely honest, here, I think this is probably a gut-check for most of us because I haven’t seen a lot of people modeling joy that overflows in chaos.
I’m just saying…
The Root of Joy
I did a little hermeneutical study of the word we translate as “joy” in the bible. What we translate to mean “joy” is translated from “chara” which means a lasting emotion that comes from our belief and trust that God will keep his promises.
If you were to go through the 400ish times joy is mentioned in the Bible, you’ll find that the majority of the time you see a reference to joy, it is related to trusting God even in the darkest times, the attitude we should have because we are living saved, the emotion involved in praising God (rejoicing), and finally an emotion that God displays in various situations related to creation.
This might be a bit of a stretch, but if we take a step back and look at the actual definition of “chara” and the references to joy in the bible, I kind of think of it as being able to look at the crappy and chaotic times in our lives and recognizing that they are temporary, that they too shall pass, and that there is a bigger picture we have to take a step back and look at.
Again, I will be the first to admit I don’t always do that and it isn’t always easy, but I think we can all find encouragement from several different scriptures to help us remember this.
Because of you, I know the path of life,
as I taste the fullness of joy in your presence.
At your right side I experience divine pleasures forevermore!
Psalm 16:11 (TPT)
After Paul is talking about causing strife in relationships over foolish things like food…
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of rules about food and drink, but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy. Serving the Anointed One by walking in these kingdom realities pleases God and earns the respect of others.
Romans 14:17-18 (TPT)
You love him passionately although you have not seen him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.
I Peter 1:8 (TPT)
A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul.But the one whose heart is crushed
struggles with sickness and depression.
Proverbs 17:22 (TPT)
Let’s be honest for a minute–sometimes life just sucks. It feels overwhelming, daunting, chaotic, and like it will never get better.
If you’ve never experienced one of those times in your life, maybe you’ll be the minority and get to live a completely charmed existence, but for the majority of us, we’ve lived through those times.
And, they’re really hard.
It’s so hard to have a heart of joy and an attitude of joy in those times.
Shoot, it’s hard to have a heart and attitude of joy in the pick-up line at school some days, right?!?!
Maybe this can be a reminder for us that the root of joy is firmly planted in the fact that we trust God
To deliver us.
To Save us.
To Prosper us.
To give us immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.
To remind us in these moments that this too shall pass.
No Formula for Joy…
I have a confession.
I know it’s super popular these days, and I know a bunch of experts suggest this strategy, but I hate it when I see articles that promise “3 simple steps to…fill in the blank here.” I struggle with that so much because we are all so different, and our needs, situations, families, relationships, etc… are so different.
So, I wish I could sit here today and tell you I have 3 surefire steps for you to live with a heart and an attitude of joy, but that would be a lie.
I can give you the foundation as to why you should humbly go to God and ask for Him to help you cultivate a life, heart, and attitude of joy, but your steps for cultivation are probably going to look very different than mine, your partner’s, your friend’s, and your pastor’s.
That’s my prayer for you today, friend–that you recognize what joy looks like, why you need to cultivate it, and that you will actively seek guidance from God to lead you to your own cultivation of joy.
Reflections:
When you are faced with chaos, how do you typically respond?
Do you consider yourself a joyful person? Why or why not?
What is one practical step you can take to help you cultivate more joy in your life?
