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The Duty of Joy: How do we have joy in these dark, evil times?

This is a message from the Holy Spirit through Witness 2 in the name of Jesus Christ, along with reader contributions at the end from Dillon, Adrian, and Jesse. There is artwork from E, as well! How do we still have joy despite the increasing persecution and suffering we will face in the coming days? This post answers this question.

Introduction - The Duty of Joy

The Duty of Joy - that seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Well, in this post, I will shed light on those reading as to what this phrase actually means, and why Christians have a "duty" of joy. Please, don't let the word "duty" scare you off. Stick around because there is much to learn. First, though, readers must understand what joy is in the first place.

Most reading would agree that we are in the end times, so this fact lends itself to the important question: How can anyone be truly joyous in these times? Certainly, there is much to be saddened by, and it seems, every day, the headlines in the news get more disturbing. Should we ignore it all or pretend everything is okay, or is there another solution?

Well, to first answer this question, let us examine the fruits of the Holy Spirit:

  • 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Love is listed first because it is the most important. If we don't have love, we can have nothing else.

Interestingly, joy is actually listed next, which signifies that it also has high importance. Unfortunately, many often confuse the word joy with happiness, so I remind readers that we must remember what connotations are in English. They are the meaning of a word, but not its definition. For example, fat and plump have similar meanings but different connotations. In the same way, joy is a form of happiness, but it is does not have the exact same meaning as happiness.

Let us see how joy is defined biblically in the concordance:

  • Word: cara
  • Pronounce: khar-ah'
  • Strongs Number: G5479
  • Orig: from 5463; cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight:--gladness, X greatly, (X be exceeding) joy(-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous). G5463

Honestly, I dislike the word happiness sometimes. I feel like it has been overused for Satanic purposes: Do what you want as long as it makes you happy! In other words, "do what thou wilt", which encompasses the "happiness" message of our society, is ultimately Satanic.

Instead, joy is a form of happiness, yes, but it is more fine-tuned, and I think that is why the word happiness was intentionally not used in the Bible. Happiness is often temporary and temperamental. On the other hand, joy is something one can manifest at all times, even when going through difficulties. Joy is something that can be worked toward and that can even be built, but it cannot be bought.

God wants us to work toward manifesting joy through the Holy Spirit, which can occur even in difficult times.

Hence, if we look at verses like the following, we are told to “rejoice” or be “calmly happy” through persecution:

Here are the definitions of “rejoice”:

  • Orig: a primary verb; to be "cheer"ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impersonally, especially as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well:--farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hall, joy(- fully), rejoice.

The best definition for joy, as used in the Bible is a kind of “calm delight” in any circumstance.

Still, how can one have joy in any circumstance? How is that possible?

Surely, it's easy to say this statement, "Be happy even in hardship," but how do we do this? What's the secret?

Paul's Secret

Here is what Paul says in Philippians 4:12:

  • I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Here is the concordance version:

Paul uses the words "full" and "abound" to describe this secret. The concordance says these lovely words:

  • "Abounding" is used of a flower going from a bud to full bloom.

That is why I used flowers in the image I created, to remind us of this "abounding":

Paul knows how to abound despite being abased. He knows how to be full despite being hungry or suffering need. Like a flower, he is in full bloom, despite the harsh conditions around him at any given time. Here is a drawing submitted by "E" that I believe fits perfectly into this theme:

Still, how? How do we do this? Well, this is where the word "duty" comes in - yes, the word no one wants to hear.

When I was praying to God about this post, and I always pray before I write anything, I stumbled upon this sermon from Charles Spurgeon, hence the inspiration for the title of this post:

If you aren't up for listening to the whole thing, I can include some highlights for readers, along with some of my own thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit:

1) First, one has to accept that when we follow Christ, we become a new creation in Him. We have to throw out our old ways of complaint, bitterness, and unnecessary negativity. He says,

  • “Rejoice in the Lord always,” commanded the Philippians to be careful for nothing, thus implying that joy in the Lord is one of the best preparations for the trials of this life. The cure for care is joy in the Lord. No, my brother, you will not be able to keep on with your fretfulness; no, my sister, you will not be able to weary yourself any longer with your anxieties, if the Lord will but fill you with his joy."

As Christians, we really cannot be claiming we are with Christ if we are always complaining or worrying. Those things do not produce joy - nor do they please the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are with Christ, we will produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit, one of which is joy.

2) There is no such thing as too much joy in the Lord.

  • He says, "You cannot be too happy, brother. Nay, do not suspect yourself of being wrong because you are full of delight. You know it is said of the divine wisdom, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Provided that it is joy in the Lord, you cannot have too much of it."

Now, we can have too much happiness when it comes to the things of the world. Those things can make us sick or burn us out. The joy of the Lord always renews us. It is a beautiful thing that is perfect.

3) It is our duty to be joyful as a Christian. He says,

  • "There are many more flies caught with honey than with vinegar; and there are many more sinners brought to Christ by happy Christians than by doleful Christians."

This is so true. Does a miserable Christian bring anyone to Christ? Very rarely. No - we should not fake happiness, but when we are working for the Lord, we will have true joy. If you do not have true joy working for the Lord, you must ask God, "What am I doing wrong?"

4) You have to work at joy. Any of the "fruits" of the Holy Spirit, such as love or joy require work. You have to practice love, and you have to practice joy. Some of us have lost joy because we do not practice it anymore. We are staring at screens so much we have lost our humanity.

If you have lost joy, you have to force yourself. Smile at a child. Do something kind for someone. Read uplifting Scripture. Pray and ask God to have joy again. "Dear Lord, please bring me joy again in Jesus's name." Listen to this song right now. I'm listening to it as I write this, and it is so beautiful! It brings me joy:

5) Be like a child to have joy. I have written about this here. Children have joy naturally. We must learn to be like children again.

6) It is a command from the Lord. Again, it is our duty. He writes,

  • "I want you to notice, dear friends, that this rejoicing is commanded. It is not a matter that is left to your option; it is not set before you as a desirable thing which you can do without, but it is a positive precept of the Holy Spirit to all who are in the Lord: “Rejoice in the Lord alway.” We ought to obey this precept because joy in the Lord makes us like God. He is the happy God; ineffable bliss is the atmosphere in which he lives, and he would have his people to be happy. Let the devotees of Baal cut themselves with knives and lancets, and make hideous outcries if they will; but the servants of Jehovah must not even mar the corners of their beard. Even if they fast, they shall anoint their head, and wash their face, that they appear not unto men to fast, for a joyous God desires a joyous people."

7) Embracing joy will benefit you and others. He says,

  • "You are commanded to rejoice, brethren, because this is for your profit. Holy joy will oil the wheels of your life’s machinery. Holy joy will strengthen you for your daily labour. Holy joy will beautify you, and, as I have already said, give you an influence over the lives of others. It is upon this point that I would most of all insist, we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord. If you cannot speak the gospel, live the gospel by your cheerfulness; for what is the gospel? Glad tidings of great joy; and you who believe it must show by its effect upon you that it is glad tidings of great joy to you believe that a man of God— under trial and difficulty and affliction, bearing up, and patiently submitting with holy acquiescence, and still rejoicing in God— is a real preacher of the gospel, preaching with an eloquence which is mightier than words can ever be, and which will find its secret and silent way into the hearts of those who might have resisted other arguments. Oh, do, then, listen to the text, for it is a command from God, “Rejoice in the Lord alway!”

Quite simply, joy is contagious, and truly, it beautifies you in every way!

8) Even if you have nothing to rejoice in, you can rejoice in the Lord. He says,

  • "Sometimes, brethren and sisters, you cannot rejoice in anything else, but you can rejoice in the Lord; then, rejoice in him to the full."

This is the secret in the end times. There may be a time where we have nothing more to rejoice in, and this time may be sooner than we think.

When I am in the line to be beheaded, I promise readers, I will be rejoicing in the Lord because no matter what, I still have Him.

I will be shouting like crazy, "Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords" until the moment I die!

9) Do not be ashamed to have others see you joyous.

We live in a society that embraces negativity and death culture. The generation being raised now believes it is "uncool" to smile, to laugh, and to have any ounce of "corniness." People are too afraid to be "cringe" or whatever the words are now.

We should never be ashamed of our joy in the Lord. Never.

10) Practice gratitude.

I believe this generation is the most ungrateful in all of history, and that is why they are the farthest from joy. God told me that gratitude is literally an act of power, and He is right.

My honest perception of the world right now is that a spirit of complaint has taken over. No matter where I go, people are complaining, never pleased, and never thankful.

It is truly a sin. It is the sin of our generation.

If you don't know how to be grateful, pray to God and ask Him.

Really, just every single day, state 5 things you are grateful for to the Lord. Every night, before bed, Witness 1 and I say thank you to God, and we come up with fun things. We try to come up with new things each night. We are thankful for the clouds, or zebras, or heavenly music.

I mean, really, aren't there endless things to be grateful for? Even in the worst of our situations? Even in prison or in the worst of circumstances?

Every day I thank God that I am alive. Each morning I say, "Lord, thank you for letting me be alive this morning."

I mean that. Do you know how many times I have almost died? I was almost murdered, almost drowned many times, almost died in car accidents, almost drank myself to death. So many times, I almost lost my life.

Yet, here I am writing this. I am alive, and I am grateful.

Our thoughts influence our reality, our health, our everything. We must be in complete control of our thoughts, and we must master our minds through Jesus Christ.

So, this is a call to joy. Even in rising persecution. Even in the worst of circumstances. Here is another picture from E:

If we have nothing else to rejoice over, we can rejoice over this one fact: We have Jesus Christ, and eternity with Him is worth any ounce of suffering we experience in life.

Today, in prayer, I said, "Thank you God for all the times I suffered. How could I write what I am writing now without experiencing that suffering?"

It's true. I thank you, Jesus, for everything.

Concluding Thoughts

Of course, one way everyone may need work is learning how to pray, and here are some resources provided by Dillon. Thank you, Dillon:

Here is another resource from Adrian. Thank you, Adrian:

And here is a concluding message from our Finnish friend, Jesse:

Do not be afraid.

I know very well that reading this blog might cause fear, anxiety and worry for tomorrow. I know, as Finnish I'm really prone to doom and gloom. But the phrase, "Do not be afraid" is written on Bible multiple times. God knows that we are prone to fear and worry for many things, even in our everyday life. That is the reason why He has told us over and over again to not be afraid. There is claims that Bible contains phrase, "Be not afraid" 365 times. I have not counted it, but even the thought itself is beautiful. Things are gonna get even harder, just like Witness 2 has been prophesying and Bible tells us. But we should not be afraid, we all should rejoice because that means the second coming of Christ is near. We should try to spread the message to anyone who still has ears to hear. 

Joshua 1:9
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.\

Isaiah 41:13
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Romans 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, if you are feeling afraid, pray that God would fill you with His Divine peace. And the prayer does not need to be complex. Something simple like, "Dear God. You see how afraid I feel. Please let the Holy Spirit fill me with the peace you have promised. In the name of Christ, amen." will suffice, after all God already knows what you need. Everyone who is reading this, lets strengthen ourselves through Christ.

That is the message I got to my mind last night. And it is not meant to criticize any of writings on the blog - I would not dare speak against messages from Holy Spirit you have received. It is to encourage readers to not abandon hope. For a while, there has been this feeling that if I'm still around when the hard times really start, I just might be one of the decapitated Christians. What a lovely thought. But with strength from God and some Finnish Sisu, I'm ready to follow Christ even to that bitter end. But that is just me, I know that there are people who are not as brave like me (at least not yet) so it is also our duty to help them with this, too. Feel free to add that message to the blog, whenever you feel it would fit on it. 

Anyways, I wish both of you blessed day with Christ. And that he would give you both strength for this day and week

With love,
Jesse

It fits perfectly! Thank you to the Holy Spirit working through Jesse at just the right time.

It is never my intention to make this blog doom and gloom. Honestly, Witness 1 will tell you I am just a very bubbly and positive person. I have no idea what it is, but I just am not scared anymore, and maybe I never really have been. I write the majority of these blog posts with joy. The majority. Still, there are times for righteous anger, sorrow, rebuke, etc.

At an early age, I learned I was going to be joyous even when the world was miserable. I was going to smile, even if it angered people. So, Witness 1 will confirm I am one of the most positive people he has ever met, and it is my secret. It is how I have survived this evil world. It is how I will continue to survive.

Honestly, I am rejoicing that the world is ending. I just have always hated this world. I have never quite fit in. It will be somewhat joyful to me. I don't know how to explain this. It isn't that I'm not sad. I just understand why it has to be. Everything is too evil, and it is time. That's my take on it, anyway.

Surely, there is definitely some mourning and devastation. I do understand that, and we should not deny that aspect of these sorrows to come. There is an appropriate time to mourn. There is a time to cry.

And don't get me wrong - I do mourn. I cry to God a lot. Still, there is always joy in my heart that I can access.

But, we cannot forget joy - even in these dark times. We cannot forget joy.

I pray for joy to touch all readers in Jesus's holy name.

- Witness 2

An old meme from Witness 1 to fit the Finland theme:]