JOY – Episode 5 – They Left the Tomb with Great Joy

JOY – Episode 5 – They Left the Tomb with Great Joy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).

It is at least interesting that the fruit of the Spirit of Joy is positioned between Love and Peace. Could it be coincidental that we must find love which comes before joy in order to find peace in our lives?

When and from what sources do you find Joy? Is it in a job well done? From your career, hobby, family, possessions or good fortune?

This word, JOY, in the Bible and from the Greek language in which it was written, is ‘chara’,  (pronounced, ‘khar-ah’), means joy, delight, gladness, a source of joy. The picture is “to extend favor, lean towards, be favorably disposed”. More properly, it means the awareness of God’s grace and favor. Joy is found when God’s grace is recognized.

Read with me over the coming episodes, examples of what the scriptures say about JOY.

And they left the tomb quickly with fear and GREAT JOY, and ran to report to His disciples. (Matthew 28:8)

Following the burial of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried, and a spectacle occurred. First an earthquake, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled away the stone that seal the tomb. The tomb’s guards froze in place from fear, but the angel told the women not to be afraid. He told them that Jesus has risen, just as He said He would, and they would find Him in Galilee! So, the women left the tomb quickly with fear and GREAT JOY, and ran to report to His disciples.

It would be easy to turn this into a story, albeit true, still a story is just a report of a past event which may give the reader good information and perhaps even a short-lived dose of excitement. But it still fades with time into just another Bible story. Let’s not allow that to happen. This event echoes and reverberates in time. Jesus foretold this would happen, and it happened! It is the miracle of miracles. It was and is a prophecy which has come to pass, and you should know by now, prophecies are rarely one-and-done. They tell the truth to you and through you, and will continue to do so until Jesus comes again for His own.

So please, read these verses again, and hear them as if they were written specifically to you – because they are written to you – and all of His disciples. Gain wisdom and understanding from these Words of Jesus.

What was the source of their Joy? Was it the empty tomb? Was it the radiance of the angel? It was neither of those things. The source of their Joy was that Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He said. The source of their Joy was that He has gone ahead of them, and they would see Him again!

Jesus has told us, ahead of time, that He would be crucified and buried, and that He would rise to life on the third day.  He has told us that He has gone ahead of us and that we will see Him again! The source of our Joy is that Jesus has risen from the dead, just as He said. The source of our Joy is that He has gone ahead of us, and we will see Him again!

Now, you also, are to leave that tomb quickly, with Great Joy, and do not be afraid, but go to your ‘Galilee’, which is the world around you, and report to everyone that He has gone ahead of us and that you will see Him again! Go and tell that He has risen from the dead as He said He would!

Allow these prophetic words to be fulfilled within you and to come alive in your life! And you will find the source of your Joy when you go and tell others He is risen, and we will see Him again!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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