Instagram Jesus Week 2: Devotional Day 1

Instagram Jesus Week 2: Devotional Day 1

DAY 1 – Monday Daily devotional

• Read

Galatians 5:22-23

•       Ask

What is your daily experience of joy like? Where does true joy come from?

•       Reflect

The person in my life who expresses the most joy is my son Ezra. When he is joyful, his whole face lights up and every ounce of energy expresses the excitement he is feeling! Every day when Ellis gets home he will run and skip and hop from one end of the house to the other, and throw himself into his Dad’s arms, shouting “Daddy!”. This moment brings us all great joy every single day!

Ezra’s joy is contagious and I often wish I could have half his energy and enthusiasm! My own daily experience of joy is far more affected by circumstances and my own natural inclination to be more serious and intense.

The concept of joy can feel unattainable. For many, in joy’s place is a more surface- level attempt to appear and feel happy. The world encourages us to seek after happiness as our ultimate goal, and teaches us that we will find it in self-gratification, material possessions and a certain lifestyle.

The Biblical answer to joy goes so much deeper than the fleeting pleasures of this world, and is not dependent on circumstances or our own innate abilities. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is a gift from God and the evidence of Christ living in our hearts. Jesus said that a tree could be recognized by the fruit is bears (cf. Matthew 7:16).

In context, these verses from Galatians are set in direct contrast with the works of the flesh (cf. Galatians 5:19-21). The fruit of the Spirit is both a defense against and an attack upon those works. This fruit comes from the Spirit, and not merely from our own efforts. If God is the source of our joy, then joy is not dependent on circumstances, or temperament, or even age! This is good news indeed!