Joy in Life: Romans 15:13

FINDING JOY IN LIFE: Romans 15:13

When serving the Lord in Kenya while living in Kijabe I discovered one day that I really did not have joy in life or in the ministry. If “joy” is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, am I not filled with the Holy Spirit? Why don’t I have joy?

The reason was obvious. I was serving in a large denomination of thousands of churches where leaders were jealous, corrupt and ever so carnal. Dishonesty, quarrels, and power struggles abounded left and right and center. In my ministry of renewal with scores of African pastors and Bible School teachers, we were praying and working toward revival. So I experienced frustration and unhappiness when continually hearing of all this crap.

Then the Lord led me to Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I began meditating on this and it showed me the way out if my dilemma. My focus needed to be on the God of Hope, not on the carnality of God’s servants. As I meditated on that verse I came to see that the secret of joy was twofold:

First, I needed to focus on the God of Hope, trusting in Him. Joy will not come until I rejoice in the Lord. Our God of Hope is the sovereign God who is Lord of the Church, who is building his Kingdom, who is in sovereign control of all things. Through the ages God’s people have fallen away (think of the Old Testament and the history of the Christian Church), but God has not been frustrated or defeated. My joy comes because I trust in this great God who is working all things out according to his eternal purpose.

Second, the secret of joy is being empowered by God, strengthened by God, yes, being filled by the Holy Spirit. “May the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you might overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The secret of hope is both from God’s enabling me by his Spirit and by my faithful response of trusting in the God of hope.

Joy and peace are the complimentary part of hope. You cannot have joy and peace without hope – not the hope that Obama gives but the hope that comes from trusting in the supreme and sovereign God of hope. When God gives you hope, the joy and peace follow. Paul does not really explain himself here but I think that the joy and peace and hope that we cry out for all comes by trusting in the God of hope. Hope gives joy and peace. And you cannot have joy and peace without hope. And all of this centers on the God of hope.

Too often we as servants of God focus on the negatives among the people whom we serve. We must not deny those negatives. To deny the negatives is to live in denial of reality. Let’s face it. God’s people throughout history have brought much reproach on the Name of Christ.

But what keeps us going with vibrancy and confidence is when we focus on the God of hope. As Isaiah said, “Even youths shall faint and grow weary and young men shall fall, but they that WAIT or HOPE in the Lord shall renew their strength…” By faith we see God at work in the midst of all the carnality. God continues to save and call out a people for himself.