Some of us grew up singing “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” But, according to Galatians 5, we should sing that we have the Holy Spirit down in our hearts. Joy is something that grows up and out of the Spirit’s indwelling.

Joy is a feeling of overwhelming happiness expressed in an outburst. Sometimes we don’t like feelings; we prefer to live as disembodied brains. Or, if we do relish our feelings, it is the quiet, tame ones. But, joy is an invigorating emotion that demands expression and defies dignity.

In the nearly 300 uses of joy in the Old Testament, the vast majority are accompanied by the verb for to shout or sing. Joy is suspicious of silence. It is loud, colorful, vibrant, active, abundant, energetic, and exuberant. Joy is also authentic. It cannot be faked or manufactured. The self-preserving dignity of fraudulent joy exposes its own artifice. True joy is an eclipse of the self and, therefore, isn’t found within. So, where do we find a fountain for joy?

First, joy is derived from a state of well-being. Joy follows a good harvest, victory in battle, building the temple, departing from Egypt or Babylon, a king’s coronation, rebuilding the temple, or rebuilding the wall. Throughout the Old Testament, joy is the stimulating sensation of indulgence in the providential blessings of God, specifically, success in some endeavor. So, when Paul says that joy is a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he means that the Spirit is the source of all God’s blessings and our enjoyment of them. Every crust of bread, glass of water, and plate of food can be received in Jesus’s Spirit as a feast. Every rented room, every old building in which God’s people gather to worship in God’s Spirit can be as special as a palace.

Our joy does not rise when we sit on the beach, as it were, passively observing the ebb and flow of life. Rather, joy overtakes us when we plunge into the tiny bit of tide entrusted to us and feel the vastness of divine love wash over us. Experience your little pool as a properly apportioned sample of oceanic goodness. Crucify selfish passions and conceited desires, which belittle and begrudge God’s great grace. Spirit-born joy finds God’s love behind every speck of goodness.

Second, joy is derived from proximity to divine presence. God gives us more joy than grain or wine (Ps. 4). In His presence is fullness of joy (Ps. 16). When God visits, the whole creation dresses up, dances, and sings (Ps. 65). When John’s disciples exclaim that everyone is going after Jesus, he says, “My joy is complete” (John 3:29). While Scripture connects joy to the earthly blessings, we are also urged to look beyond these transitory samples to eternal fullness. There is a perfection of joy found only in God. So, when Paul says that joy is a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he means that the Spirit is the ultimate blessing of which these momentary blessings are but appetizers. He who serves this earthly feast of goodness is Himself the true heavenly feast. This is why Paul says repeatedly that he has a joy untarnished by his present experience of earthly blessings. Like Jesus, Paul found that doing the will of His Father was feast enough to satisfy any starving stomach.

Our joy does not rise when we become entangled in the endless affairs of life. Rather, joy overtakes us when we indulge ourselves in the means of grace. Keep in step with the Spirit by regularly enjoying Scripture and prayer. Help others to keep in step with the Spirit by sharing with them the inexhaustible feast of love found in these means of grace. Crucify proud passions and deceiving desires, which seek to satisfy your soul with appreciation or success. Spirit-born joy finds intimacy with God the main ambition of existence.

For you as temples of the Holy Spirit, every little earthly experience of goodness is a mouth-sized morsel of your Father’s love. And, as holy habitations of Jesus’ Spirit, you are summoned to a glorious calling in which you serve to others the grace you so desperately need. When the Holy Spirit dwells within you, joy comes leaping out. For, the fruit of the Spirit is … joy.