Skip to main content

Grace is the Root-Joy Series #5


Roots run deep.
So does grace.
Deeper than we often think.

In “Surprised by Joy” I said:

“...Grace should always be unexpected because it’s always undeserved.  And grace is always reason for joy!”

I didn’t realize the depth of that statement.  But, God’s truth runs deep, so what can I expect?

I wish I could say that I was deep within a Greek dictionary or conversing with a Bible scholar when I stumbled across this truth, but I wasn’t.  Rather, it was none-other than the infamous Wikipedia!  How appropriate that I would be surprised by truth from such a place, thus surprised by grace, and surprised by joy.

It states [and is confirmed by more reliable sites ;)] that the Greek word for joy is “chara.”  This is from the Greek word “charis,” or the grace of God.  
Joy is always rooted in God’s grace.

Because the joy listed in Galatians 5 is the fruit of the Spirit, we know that it is His work in us that produces this joy.  
Not only does the action-grace of God cause joy, but the imparted grace of God produces joy.

Joy “is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times.” 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_of_the_Holy_Spirit#Joy_.28Greek:_chara.2C_Latin:_gaudium.29)

We need not strive to sum up joy in our times of struggle because we already have complete access to it.  We have been given it in the work of the Spirit.  We must only be willing to receive His work!

Nehemiah 8:10 reads:
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
This “may be further understood to mean properly as ‘the awareness (of God’s) grace, favor; joy (“grace recognized”).’ ”
 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_of_the_Holy_Spirit#Joy_.28Greek:_chara.2C_Latin:_gaudium.29)

“The joy of the Lord is [our] strength because joy is the grace of God at work within our hearts.”

The observed grace of God is reason for joy.
Christ.
The at-work-in-your-life grace of God produces joy in His power.
Holy Spirit.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clothed with Him

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. This sentence comes right after a verse about giving up sins.   And I’m contemplating what it looks like to give up my sinful ways of thinking and replace it with the way Jesus thinks.  I’m wondering what it means to “put [him] on.” And the weather has begun to change, so I pick out a shirt that I haven’t worn yet that’s more suited for this fall-ish weather.  It’s one of many hand-me-downs that my best friend has given me. And I go to church, and the thing I keep sensing the Spirit telling me is that I am loved.  That I need not consider the thoughts and opinions and judgements of others, but rather listen to what He is speaking over me: that I am fully loved. That I need to really believe that I am not perfect, nor will I be here on this earth. That most of the anxiety and uncertainty that I experience is because I keep trying to reconc...
1 comment
Read more

Bearing WIth One Another-Joy Series #2

It’s in reading Ann Voscamp’s blog “A Holy Experience” that I get that maybe I’ve been viewing some of this wrong... When I’m so overwhelmed with self pity and hopelessness, I feel like I can’t handle anyone else’s stuff.  How am I supposed to bear twice the burden I already am?   “Burden is only a weight when borne alone.  When the burden is borne together, by a Body, the burden becomes bond — soul strengthener.” ( http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/04/when-life-burns-what-we-could-do-for-each-other/   ) But what if bearing another’s burden is actually a distribution of weight? Because you’re bearing each other’s burdens rather than trying to bear your own. So, rather than you and everyone else trying desperately to stand under the weight of their burdens, you all stand together and bear everyone’s burdens.  Then when in your moments of weakness, the strength of others helps you keep standing. That’s what the Body does. I continue reading...
1 comment
Read more

Death to Life

It’s good Friday.   The words of Bonhoeffer ruminate in my head and the world around me vacillates between winter and spring. The day, the words, the surroundings speak of death. Those trailing flowers I pass by every day on my way to work have moved from tiny buds to full-fledged blooms and I’m reminded that death always brings about life. The words of a wise man, spoken years ago in a time of vision seeming to die, ring in my head again: “In order for something new to come, something has to die.” It speaks a hope over the death of dreams and a season that has made me aware of just how failing my flesh is.   The thoughts leave as quickly as they enter and I go about my day. I find myself skimming the newspaper handed to me by the man changing my oil.   My eyes are drawn to a section on chronic pain and I read about a newer perspective of doctors regarding this issue: the focus has shifted from attempting to take away all pain, to trying to re...
Post a Comment
Read more