The Joy of the Lord
Dr. John K. Mathew
When we think of the functioning of the Holy Spirit in the creation of the world, we think of omnipotence. The Holy Spirit was omnipotent, or all-powerful.
Out of the chaos that existed in the beginning, He brought cosmos. God spoke, and His Word had to be obeyed. The Spirit of God moved upon the desolation, and there came forth that which was beautiful for God and the man. We read this function of the Holy Spirit in the very first verses of the Bible." In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" ( Gen.1:1,2)
Kuruvilla Chandy writes, that 'the revelation of God to humans has been largely in phases: First, God revealed himself as Creator and Sustainer and Preserver. In the incarnation, God revealed himself as Saviour and Lord. After that God revealed himself as the Holy Spirit who has come to take possession of lives that opened to the Saviour."
Those who are possessed by the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit. One among them is Joy. Apostle Paul writes, "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:!7).
Apostle Paul spoke of himself as 'sorrowful, yet always rejoicing'. As he concluded his life and ministry, he anticipated the joy that would be his at the end. In his book 'Life Beyond Amazing' David Jeremiah writes, "the Holy Spirit is the purveyor of joy. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live within you. He becomes ever-present in your life. This is part of the gift of salvation– the dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout your life, you get to decide whether to turn your life over to His guidance. When you decide to give Him control of your life, He will bring His joy to you.
Here, is a story he shares about a headmaster at a boarding school in London. One of his students remarked that he thought the headmaster went to heaven every night because every morning he saw him, he had such a wonderful smile on his face. That student figured the only place you could get that kind of joy was by checking to heaven at the end of every day. One day the headmaster was asked why he was so filled with joy, and his response was really an amazing statement: "Joy is the flag that is flown from the castle of your heart when the King is in residence". Let God Almighty be the president of your life and the Holy Spirit be a resident. The joy of the Lord will be our strength. Amen.
