Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Joy is one of the most beautiful qualities of the Spirit’s fruit, but it’s also one that we sometimes misunderstand. We associate joy with being happy, having our needs met, and enjoying the good things of life. There’s certainly nothing wrong with being happy, but the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit goes much deeper than that. It gives us something to hold on to when circumstances aren’t going our way, and when life gives us very little reason to smile about.
01 — The Fruit: What Does It Mean?
Romans 15:13 (NLT) tells us, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Joy comes from God. It’s an inside job. Although it’s wonderful to experience feelings of happiness, the joy of the Lord isn’t based on feelings. It isn’t contingent on the circumstances and conditions we find ourselves in. It’s rooted in our relationship with God and the confidence we have in His goodness, faithfulness, and promises.
We are programmed by society to allow our emotions to dictate who and how we will be from one moment to the next. If all goes well at work and our boss is pleased, we determine to have a good day. If the opposite circumstances exist, and our boss really lets us have it, we’ll tell others we’re having a bad day. The same is true of home life. If there’s chaos and confusion in our homes, we’re very unhappy. In these cases, our emotions control the switch. We can go from feeling good to feeling very bad in a matter of seconds based on what we allow our emotions and thoughts to feed each other. But the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit gives us a source of strength that doesn’t disappear every time something unpleasant happens.
02 — We See It in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ knew what it was to experience sorrow, rejection, and suffering. He wasn’t removed from the difficulties of human life. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus, grieved over Jerusalem, and experienced tremendous anguish as He approached the cross. Yet, none of these experiences changed His love for the Father or His commitment to carry out God’s Will. His joy was rooted in His relationship with the Father and in accomplishing the purpose for which He had been sent.
Hebrews 12:2 (NLT) tells us, “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” Think about what this tells us. Jesus didn’t find pleasure in the pain of crucifixion. The suffering was real, and so was the agony. But He knew what His sacrifice would accomplish. He knew that through His obedience, salvation would be made available to all who believe in Him. The joy set before Him was greater than the suffering He would endure. His example teaches us that joy and sorrow can exist at the same time. We can be deeply troubled by what we’re facing and still have confidence in God’s purpose and promises.
03 — The Fruit in Action: A Biblical Example
Acts 16 gives us a remarkable account of Paul and Silas. They had been preaching the gospel in Philippi when they were seized, beaten with rods, and thrown into prison. Their feet were fastened in stocks, and they were placed in the inner dungeon. They hadn’t committed a crime worthy of such treatment. They were suffering because they had been obedient to the work God had given them to do.
Acts 16:25 (NLT) tells us, “Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Now, that’s something! These men had been beaten, humiliated, and locked away, yet they were praying and singing praises to God. Scripture doesn’t tell us that their bodies weren’t hurting or that they were enjoying their surroundings. What it shows us is that their circumstances hadn’t taken away their reason to worship. They still knew who God was, and they still trusted Him. Their joy was evident in their response to suffering, and their praise became a testimony to the other prisoners who were listening.
04 — When the Holy Spirit Grows This Fruit in Us
We must understand that the Holy Spirit doesn’t produce joy in us by making every unpleasant feeling disappear. There will be days when we’re tired, disappointed, grieving, or overwhelmed by the responsibilities of life. These feelings don’t mean that we’ve lost the joy of the Lord. Jesus never taught us to pretend that sorrow isn’t real. What the Holy Spirit does is help us remain anchored in the truth of God’s Word, even when our emotions are having a difficult time catching up with what we know to be true.
Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT) reminds us, “Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” The people who heard these words had been weeping as they listened to God’s Law. Nehemiah encouraged them to rejoice because the day was holy to the Lord. This helps us understand that the joy of the Lord is not a shallow happiness that ignores our condition. It is strength that comes from knowing God, trusting His mercy, and rejoicing in His goodness. As we continue in His Word and yield to the Holy Spirit, He helps us lift our thoughts above what we’re feeling at the moment and remember the One who holds our lives in His hands.
05 — What This Fruit Looks Like in Our Lives Today
There are going to be days when things just don’t work out the way we want them to. There are going to be some times when the news isn’t great or the one we love is showing us a side we haven’t seen before, and we don’t like it. Sometimes life hits us with problems that are no joke, and it can seem as if there’s no immediate solution. Those kinds of upsets can do a whammy on our emotions, and we don’t always respond the way Jesus calls us to. We’re human. It’s going to happen. But we don’t have to allow every circumstance to determine our outlook on life or our confidence in God. We can acknowledge that something is painful or disappointing, but we can’t allow it to convince us that God isn’t who He says He is. He’s good all the time and that will never change.
Philippians 4:4 (NLT) tells us, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” Notice that Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord. He doesn’t tell us to rejoice because everything in our lives is going perfectly. Life comes with struggles and challenges, but there’s nothing too hard for God to handle. That’s where our faith must be. When we remember who God is, what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us, and the promises our Heavenly Father has made, we ought to rejoice all day long because we know in our hearts that God won’t fail us. That’s the kind of joy that goes beyond our present circumstances. The Holy Spirit helps us hold on to these truths about the goodness of our God and our victory in Christ. And as we continue to trust Him, His joy becomes a steady source of strength in our lives.
We can rejoice by remembering what God has already brought us through, thanking Him for the promises He’s made, and refusing to allow our circumstances to convince us that He has forgotten about us. Sometimes rejoicing is as simple as saying, “Heavenly Father, I don’t know how this is going to work out, but I trust You, and I thank You for being faithful.” That’s rejoicing in the Lord, because our confidence is in Him and not in everything going our way.
We won’t always feel like smiling, and we won’t always have an easy day. But we can still have joy because we belong to God. We can still praise Him because He’s faithful. And we can still look forward with hope because our lives are in His hands. This is the joy that the Holy Spirit produces in us. It isn’t something the world can give us, and it isn’t something our circumstances have the power to take away.
Examining Our Walk
- How often do we allow our circumstances or other people’s behavior to determine whether we’re going to have a good day?
- When we’re facing disappointment or difficulty, are we turning to God’s Word for strength, or allowing our emotions to lead us?
- What can we begin doing differently to make more room for the Holy Spirit’s joy to be evident in our lives?
Closing Scripture — John 15:11 (NLT)
“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“The Spirit’s Fruit — Joy”, written by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring Christian Women to live boldly through God’s Word.
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