In the 1990’s a phenomenon broke out called Holy Laughter. In church meetings, people who were not planning on laughing started laughing and tried to stop, but could not. Sometimes preachers would come to the pulpit fully intending on preaching, but when they opened their mouths, only laughter would come out. When I observed that, I became troubled and uncomfortable. I thought, “God may want us a little joyful, but I don’t think He wants us this joyful. I am going to look in the Bible and see if joy is actually in there.” Ha!

As a follower of Jesus, I have not always been convinced about the importance of joy. I even thought it was the optional fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that was just for certain personalities. Because I did not value joy, I did not make room for it in my life. This perspective has changed, and I now am convinced joy is something to be pursued and highly valued. Here are just a few of the incredible Bible verses that helped me believe that:

Nehemiah 8:10 “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” I believe our spiritual load-bearing capacity is in direct proportion to the level of joy in our lives. Also, I realized we do not need strength at the end of the battle, but we need strength in the middle of the battle. For most reading this right now, today is seemingly not a good day to walk in radical joy, but we cannot delay joy because if we do, we will be delaying strength into our lives. 

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” 

A cheerful heart is like medicine and “Doctor God” told me, “Steve, I've got a prescription for you. I want you to laugh heartily three times a day.” Joy and a merry heart are keys for us to be emotionally and physically healthy. Science has caught up with the Bible in proving the health benefits of laughter. If you do an online search for “laughter and health”, you will find some great info. Here is an example: https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter

Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We may not be outrageously joyful every time we are in His presence, but if we are never outrageously joyful in His presence, we may not be as much in His presence as we think we are. A chronic lack of joy is a representation of an incomplete God encounter. 

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.”

Joy is the second fruit of the spirit. A perspective of joy (a lifestyle of joy) is one of the signs that our connection with God is healthy.

Hebrews 1:9 “...You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Jesus created a culture of gladness around him. Great leaders and great parents create a culture of gladness wherever they are. When we embrace gladness, we will have to let go of a lot of dysfunctions in our beliefs and in our relationships. 

Luke 2:10 “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.’” It's amazing that out of all the topics in Christianity and in our relationship with God that could have been chosen for the angel to speak to the shepherds, the one that was chosen was about joy. Not just a little joy, but great joy. And this joy is not just for people with the right personality or the right situation, but for all the people, for everybody everywhere.

Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Joy is one-third of the kingdom. When I first heard somebody say this, I didn’t agree. I didn’t think joy was that important. I am now convinced that it is because when we pursue joy, we will receive God's grace, wisdom, and power to overcome the things that cause us to not be joyful (and, thus, create massive growth in our lives). We will be able to overcome the self-limiting beliefs such as the victim mindset, pessimism, worry, offense, fear, unworthiness, and more. 

These are just a few of the Bible verses that refer to joy and gladness. They helped convince me to not be passive about joy, but pursue it. 

David prayed in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” Why don’t you pray this right now and begin thanking God that it is happening? He truly is the restorer of our joy.