Devo: "The Fuel of Joy"

 "The Fuel of Joy"

“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

    I enjoyed watching the first Ironman movie. The movie featured an eccentric, brilliant scientist who had developed special indestructible suit. Ironman’s suit enabled him to endure virtually every attack villains would throw at him. Ironman’s superhero suit was powered by a special reactor that covered his heart.

   As born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we are like Ironman. We are called to put on the “new self” of our spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10). Our new self, being in the likeness of Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is our spiritual suit that empowers us to endure or persevere in the adversities of this world.

     In virtually every adversity the Word of God informs us about, perseverance or endurance is a quality we are called to use to overcome the adversities of this world (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5). Our personal efforts to endure or persevere the adversities of this world can wear us out and render us hopeless. We need spiritual power to empower our spirit suit to endure the adversities of this world.

   To empower our spiritual suit to be able to persevere, the Lord invites us to use the joy of the Holy Spirit. Joy is a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit. In every fruit there is a seed. When we sow a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit, we reap the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 6:6-9). When we choose to rejoice we take on the fuel of the Spirit.

      The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). When Jesus Christ faced the seemingly impossible adversity of death on the Cross, He used joy to endure it (Hebrews 12:2). Joy turns vicious temptations into an opportunity to be perfect, complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4). Joy enables tribulations to be an opportunity to be proven and receive hope (Romans 5:3-5). Rejoicing enables us to endure insults and persecutions (Matthew 5:11–12). Joy is the secret fuel that empowers us to overcome the adversities of this world. That is why our God instructs us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Note: Rejoicing is the verbal form of joy.