Let The Joy Flow

Philippians 4:4 NKJ “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!”

As a child of God you have joy in your spirit. But you must choose to let it flow out into your mind, body, and circumstances. Joy is part of the provision God has given you so you can walk in strength and victory (Nehemiah 8:10b). Not allowing joy to flow out of your innermost being allows a weakness that can provide an opening for the devil to bring sadness. Joy is part of the “fruit” produced by the Holy Spirit through your spirit (Galatians 5:22). But you must choose to let the joy out. You must confess words of joy, thanking and praising God. You must choose to let the joy flow! But do not expect this to always be easy. It is when things seem the worst that you need to act on this the most. Although Apostle Paul was writing from prison, joy is the dominant theme of his epistle to the Philippians church. How strange that a man in prison could instruct a church to rejoice. Paul’s attitude teaches us an important lesson: our outwards circumstances do not need to dictate our inner attitude.  As children of God, we have joy and peace in our spirits. But our minds may be blocking the flow by keeping our focus on circumstances and it is easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances. Sometimes it is good for us to just let loose and force ourselves to really rejoice and praise God. Circumstances in your life may not be perfect, but you can always rejoice in the Lord, because He is always perfect. Christians should be joyful in every circumstance, because true joy is found in our Lord, Jesus Christ!