Without Faith

“Joyfulness”

Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. We know that faith is believing, but if others saw us during a time of testing, would our faith be evident? Would our faith be meaningless words, without evidence that can be seen by a lost and dying world? This doesn’t mean we don’t cry out to God in prayer, or have time to grieve during a trial or trauma. But we must never forget that God has given us prophetic promises in His Word. We are promised a return of something good in exchange for the troubles of this life. “He promises us the oil of joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, the promise of eternal life, and so much more. The Psalmist says, “He who goes back and forth weeping, carrying his bag of seed [for planting], Will indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalms 126:6).

All the sorrows of this life, including the good things, must be balanced with a modicum of “joyfulness” to keep us walking in faith with a sound and sober mind. While vocabulary.com defines “joyfulness” as the “appearance of being happy,” for intensive purposes, one of the definitions in Strong’s Concordance in the Greek will be used here, which is “calm.” Having a calm spirit, regardless of what is going on, presents faith to all who see. It is written, “Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears, For your work will be rewarded, says the Lord; And your children will return from the enemy’s land” (Jeremiah 31:16 AMP). When we are calm, balanced, and confident, maintaining an attitude of “joyfulness,” people who need encouragement will be drawn to us like moths to light in a world of fear and darkness. The outline of Biblical usage from Strong’s uses this definition for “joyfulness,” “of persons who are one’s joy.” When we are walking in faith, demonstrating a calm, balanced spirit, there will be no extreme highs or lows, but we will transmit a stability that is contagious to those around us. We become someone who can bring joy and hope to others who need to be uplifted and saved from the snare of the devil.

Like Ezra, who encouraged the people to stop grieving over the past, which they could do nothing about, saying, “Go [your way], eat the rich festival food, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be worried, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold” (Nehemiah 8:10 AMP). We can encourage them to embrace peace and joy. This is how the gospel becomes relevant to mankind. We are His hands, feet, and voice in this world. It is up to us to be disciplined soldiers, not entangled with the despairs of this life, but demonstrating the power of faith that is energized by love, whose catalyst is joyfulness. May the reader be “strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness”(Colossians 1:11 KJV).