Cultivating the Garden | Episode 3: Joy— The Strength

Joy is more than an emotion—it is a source of strength rooted in God’s presence.

In this episode of Cultivating the Garden, we’re talking about the fruit of the Spirit known as joy. While happiness often depends on our circumstances, biblical joy remains steady because it is anchored in Christ. Together, we’ll explore what Scripture teaches about true joy, how it strengthens us through difficult seasons, and practical ways to cultivate it in our daily lives.

No matter what season you’re walking through, God’s joy is available to sustain you.

Grab your Bible, your journal, and let’s continue cultivating the garden together.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Hey girlies, welcome back to Gospel Girlies, the Gospel Center podcast for women. I'm your host, Angel, and around here we're about honest faith, real life, and choosing obedience, even when the road doesn't make sense. So get ready to have your hearts filled, your souls lifted, and your faith ignited. If you're new here, welcome home, girly. If you've been here, you already know the vibes. Hey girl, hey! Alright, so just a precursor. Blaze is in the room. He is sitting right next to me as I'm recording, and he has his little bone toy. So if you hear some chomping and some crunching, just say hey to Blaze. Anyways, before we get into today's episode, I wanted to catch y'all up on a few things. First, I had the opportunity to have a really meaningful conversation with one of my uncles on my mom's side of the family. He is my mom's uncle, so my mom's mom is his sister. Okay, dang, I almost didn't get that out. But we have never met or had the opportunity to get to know each other. Um, so we ended up talking for a little while about family, and then I learned a little bit more about my mom and even about my grandmother, who I never had a chance to meet. If you know my story, then you know I lost my mom when I was five years old. So moments like this mean a lot to me because I don't have many opportunities to learn more about her, and so one of the things that has always stood out to me is that whenever I've asked people um about my mom or they mention my mom, they always describe her the same way. They tell me she was incredibly sweet, so that's where I get it from. So hearing my uncle say that too just made me smile because every conversation gives me another little glimpse into who she was. We also found out um that when I graduate in December, or I found out that when I graduate in December, I'll only be about an hour away from where he lives in Florida. So we have already made plans um to finally meet in person, and I am really looking forward to that because I just like to get to know all sides of my family, um, and so I'm excited and I cannot wait. Now, on the gospel girly side of things, I could scream so loud. After church this past Sunday, one of my friends and I had the opportunity to do our very first gospel girlies merch photo shoot. Y'all, it was so much fun. We laughed, we took so many pictures, tried different poses, and honestly just had the best time. I cannot wait to share those photos with you because they turned out even better than I imagined. Seeing something that started as just an idea become something we could actually wear and photograph was honestly such a surreal moment, and I'm excited for you all to see what we've been working on. So stay tuned because they will be the pictures will be dropping soon, the behind the scenes will be dropping soon, all of that will be coming soon, and of course, I can't wait for y'all to see. Also, your girl had a very booked and busy weekend, so I had 21 lecture videos to watch for school, plus assignments and a survey to complete. Now, did I procrastinate? Absolutely, I didn't even start watching those lecture videos until Friday. And y'all know, anybody that's been in school, assignments are due at 11:59 p.m. So my videos were due at 11.59 p.m. on Sunday. But although I procrastinated, by the grace of God, I finished every single lecture, completed my assignments, answered the survey, and wrapped everything up by 9:50 p.m. Sunday night. Sometimes we put things off because the task ahead feels overwhelming, but once we finally get started, we realize God gives us the grace to finish what He has called us to do. Now, let's jump into today's episode. Last week we looked at the very first fruit of the Spirit, love, through 1 Corinthians 13 and John 13, verse 34 through 35. We discovered that love isn't simply one fruit among many, it is the foundation the rest of the fruit grows from. We talked about how spiritual maturity isn't measured by how much we know or even by the things we do for God, it's revealed in how we love. Because Jesus said people would know we belong to Him by the way we love. And before we ended, we left ourselves with one question. If someone watched your life, would love be the first thing they noticed? Today, we're going to continue our journey through the fruit of the spirit as we look at the second fruit, joy. To me, joy is one of the most misunderstood fruits of the spirit? But what happens when life gets hard? When you're grieving, walking through a waiting season, facing disappointment, or still waiting for prayers to be answered, can joy still exist then? I believe that that's a question many of us have asked at some point. Because if joy depends on our circumstances, then the moment life gets hard, our joy disappears too. But what if biblical joy isn't built on circumstances at all? What if it's built on something much deeper? Today we're going to look at Philippians chapter four, verse four, and John chapter 15, verse 11, to discover where true joy comes from and why it can remain even when life feels anything but joyful. I think it's important that we define what we're talking about because we often use the word joy and happiness as if they mean the same thing. But scripture paints a different picture. Happiness is usually connected to what's happening around us. In fact, they even begin the same. Happiness, happenings both begin with H A P P. And I don't think that's a coincidence. When life is going well, we're happy. When we get good news, we're happy. When things work out the way we hoped, we're happy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with happiness. I believe it's a gift from God, but happiness was never meant to carry the weight of our hope. Because circumstances change, good days become hard days, celebrations can turn into disappointment. Answers can become waiting. But biblical joy is different. Joy isn't rooted in what's happening around us, it's rooted in the one who never changes. And I think that's such an important distinction because if we misunderstand what joy is, we'll spend our lives chasing happiness while wondering why it never seems to last. One sentence um kept coming back to me while I was preparing this episode. Happiness depends on happenings. Joy depends on connection. I'ma repeat. Happiness depends on happenings, joy depends on connection. I want you to hold on to that thought because by the end of today's episode, I think it's going to make a lot more sense. Let's begin with Philippians chapter 4, verse 4. Paul writes, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. In the CED version, it says, Always be glad because the Lord, because of the Lord, I will say it again, be glad. At first glance, this verse sounds simple, almost too simple. Rejoicing can sound simple when we read these words on a page, but living them is something entirely different. That's why I think it's important to know who wrote these words and what was happening when he wrote them. So Paul wasn't writing this letter while relaxing on the beach on vacation. He wasn't writing from a place where everything in his life was going the way he wanted. In fact, he was writing from prison behind bars, locked up, not free. He had been arrested for preaching the gospel. He was chained, separated from many of the churches he loved, living with uncertainty about what would happen next. Humanly speaking, Paul had every reason to complain, every reason to become discouraged, every reason to lose hope. Yet instead of writing, feel sorry for me, or I don't know how much longer I can do this, he writes, rejoice in the Lord always. That completely changes the way I read this verse because Paul isn't giving us advice from the sidelines while his life is amazing, peaches and cream. He's living what he's teaching. He's showing us that joy isn't reserved for easy seasons. It's available even in difficult ones. Now, does that mean Paul wasn't hurting? Not at all. Absolutely not. Throughout his letters, Paul is honest about suffering. He's honest about hardships. He's honest about persecution. He doesn't pretend those things don't exist. Sometimes we hear the word joy and immediately assume God is asking us to ignore our pain. But that's not what scripture teaches. Biblical joy isn't pretending everything is okay, it's recognizing that even when life isn't okay, God still is. Paul doesn't tell us to rejoice because prison is enjoyable. He doesn't tell us to rejoice because suffering is fun. He says, rejoice in the Lord. That's the difference. Our circumstances may change, but the Lord doesn't. Our emotions may rise and fall, but the Lord remains faithful. Our plans may not unfold the way we expected, but the Lord is still present. And because he remains, our joy can remain too. Notice I didn't say because of our circumstances, I said because of the Lord. Life may be difficult, life may be painful, life may be uncertain, but God remains constant. His character doesn't change, his promises don't expire, his faithfulness doesn't depend on how we're feeling that day. That's why we can rejoice. Not because everything around us is good, but because the one holding us is still good. One question came to my mind while I was studying, and it was how do you explain this to someone who's having a really hard time? Someone who doesn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, someone who's grieving, someone who's lost a loved one, someone who's struggling with depression, someone whose prayers haven't been answered. And I think you explain it gently. You don't tell them to stop crying, dry your tears, get over it. You don't tell them just be joyful. You remind them that biblical joy isn't the absence of tears. It's the assurance that even in the middle of those tears, God hasn't left them. Joy says, I don't understand everything that's happening right now, but I still know who God is. That's why someone can grieve deeply and still possess the joy of the Lord. Their pain is real, but so is God's presence. Because I never want us to hear verses like this and think God is telling us to fake happiness. He's not. Jesus Himself wept. Jesus experienced sorrow. So scripture gives us permission to feel. Biblical joy isn't denying pain. It's remaining anchored while you're walking through it. It's being able to say, This hurts. Real bad. So bad, so much. But I'm not hopeless. I love this sentence because I think it captures what biblical joy really looks like. It doesn't erase tears, it doesn't eliminate hard seasons. It simply reminds us that our hope has a stronger foundation than our circumstances. That is so, so, so good. And that's why joy and peace are so closely connected. Because both of them are rooted in trusting God. Not in everything working out exactly the way we hoped. But I think that's where, even through your hard times, continuing to remain with God, continuing building your intimate relationship with Him, continuing to be deep in your word comes into play because you can't do anything on your own strength. And so I just say to the people, like keep looking towards God, keep staying connected to Him. It's easier said than done, but eventually you'll get it. It may take some time, it doesn't happen overnight, but eventually you'll get it. Trust me, I know. Oh, I know so well. So yeah, this is your word of encouragement. Keep pushing, keep striving, keep praying, keep believing it's gonna be alright.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Sorry, somebody's outside, and of course, this is the guard of all of the complex. He thinks he gotta tell people, hey, don't stand outside, you can't be out there. So, anyways, let's get back to it. The second passage we're looking at today comes from John chapter 15, verse 11. Jesus says, These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. Another version says, I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. Notice where this verse appears. Jesus has just spent time teaching his disciples about abiding in him. Just like branches remain connected to the vine, they were to remain connected to Jesus. Then immediately after teaching about that connection. He begins talking about joy. That's not accidental. Jesus is showing us where joy comes from. It grows from connection. That's one of my favorite takeaways from this study. Joy grows from connection. Not connection to success. Not connection to comfort. Not connection to people, connection to Christ. I realized they were all pointing back to something we've already been talking about throughout this series. Think about where we've been so far. In Psalm 1, we saw a tree planted by streams of water. It stayed healthy because of where it was planted. Then in John 15, Jesus describes himself as the vine and us as the branches. Branches don't struggle to produce fruit when they remain connected to the vine. Then in Galatians 5, Paul teaches us about the fruit of the Spirit. Different passages, different authors, different moments in Scripture, yet they're all pointing to the same truth. Healthy fruit comes from a healthy source. That reminded me of something my pastor once said that really fits what we're talking about. He said, healthy leaders produce healthy people. The more I thought about that statement, the more I realized the same principle applies spiritually. Healthy roots produce healthy trees. Healthy vines produce healthy branches. Healthy sources produce healthy fruit. And spiritually speaking, Jesus is our source. That's why joy isn't something we're supposed to manufacture. We're not waking up every morning trying harder to be joyful. Ah, let me get on up and be joyful today. I don't know how I'm gonna do it. But we're remaining connected to the one who produces joy within us. I think that's incredibly freeing because if joy depended on me, I probably lose it every time life got difficult, every time someone disappointed me, every time something didn't go according to plan, every time I received bad news, but thankfully, joy doesn't depend on my strength, it depends on my connection. Let me say that in a way that'll probably hit you the way it hit me just then. Joy doesn't depend on your strength, it depends on your connection. As we remain connected to Jesus, the more his character begins to show in our lives, not because we're trying harder, but because his spirit is producing something within us that we could never produce on our own. These aren't qualities we're striving to manufacture, they're evidence that the Holy Spirit is transforming us from the inside out. Jesus wasn't inviting his disciples to manufacture joy, he was inviting them to remain connected to him so his joy would remain in them. The same joy Jesus possessed. Think about that for a moment. Jesus spoke these words knowing the cross was ahead of him, yet he still spoke about joy. That tells me his joy was never dependent on easy circumstances because we know his circumstances was not easy at all. It was rooted in his relationship with the Father. That means the source of his joy wasn't the absence of suffering, it was the presence of the Father, and that's the same joy he wants us to experience. Not temporary happiness, not emotional highs that disappear the moment life gets hard, but a deep, steady, lasting joy that comes from remaining connected to him. To me, that's one of the most encouraging truths in today's episode. Jesus doesn't promise us an easy life, but he does promise that as we remain in him, his joy can remain in us. So, what does biblical joy actually look like in everyday life? I think a lot of us picture joy as always smiling. Your cheeks gonna hurt if you always smiling, always being cheerful, people gonna think you're fake, or never seeming bothered by anything. That's that what's that nonchalantness, but that's not the picture scripture gives us. Joy isn't forcing a smile when your heart is breaking. Biblical joy makes room for real emotions, it makes room for tears, grief, disappointment, and the hard seasons we all walk through because feeling those emotions doesn't mean you've lost your joy. One sentence that really stood out to me during this study was joy is not the absence of pain, it's the presence of God in the middle of it. I want to say that again. Because I think someone listening today needs to hear that. Maybe you've been questioning your faith because you've been struggling, maybe you've wondered if I really had the joy of the Lord, why do I still fail sad? But those aren't opposites. So sadness isn't evidence that you've failed spiritually. The question isn't do I ever feel sad? The question is where is my hope anchored while I'm walking through it? Because joy allows us to honestly say this hurts, but I'm not hopeless. That's a sentence I haven't been able to stop thinking about because that's what biblical joy looks like. It doesn't deny reality, it doesn't pretend suffering isn't painful, it simply refuses to let suffering have the final word because our hope is found in Christ. If you're walking through a difficult season right now, I want you to hear me. God is not asking you to pretend you're okay, he's not asking you to fake a smile, he's not asking you to ignore your grief, he's inviting you to stay close to him. Because when life feels unstable, his presence remains steady. When circumstances keep changing, his character never changes. When you don't know what tomorrow holds, you can still know the one who holds tomorrow. So if your joy feels weak today, don't focus on trying harder to be joyful. Focus on staying connected to Jesus. Because joy isn't something you force, it's something the Holy Spirit faithfully grows as you continue abiding in Christ. Maybe we've caught ourselves thinking, when this works out, then I'll have joy. When I finally get through this season, then I'll be joyful. When God answers this prayer, then I'll rejoice. But this study reminded me that if joy is always waiting on our circumstances to change, we'll constantly find ourselves chasing something that was never meant to come from circumstances in the first place. Instead, scripture points us back to Jesus, back to abiding, back to remaining connected, because that's where joy grows. And I honestly found that incredibly encouraging. It reminds us that we don't have to pretend life is perfect in order to experience the joy of the Lord. We can still have questions, we can still have difficult days, we can still experience disappointment, we can still grieve, and yet, underneath all of those emotions, our hope can remain secure because our lives are anchored in Christ. One of the biggest takeaways from this study is joy isn't about ignoring reality, it's about remembering who is with us in the middle of reality. That changes everything. As we close today's episode, I don't want us to walk away thinking that joy is something we have to manufacture because it's not. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit, which means it's something the Holy Spirit produces as we remain connected to Jesus. So don't measure your joy by your circumstances, measure it by your connection. Because circumstances will change, people will disappoint you, plans will fall apart, seasons will come and go, but Jesus remains the same. And because he remains, our joy can remain too. Stay close to Jesus. His presence is steady even when your circumstances aren't. Because sometimes the strongest display of joy isn't laughing, sometimes it's continuing to trust God while your heart is still healing. I'm gonna say that again. Because sometimes the strongest display of joy isn't laughing, sometimes it's continuing to trust God while your heart is still healing. And if that's where you are today, keep abiding, keep praying, keep trusting, keep showing up because the same God who has been faithful before will continue to be faithful now. And even if your circumstances haven't changed yet, his presence hasn't left you. So the question to sit with this week is where have you been looking for joy? Has your joy been tied to your circumstances or has it been rooted in Christ? Take some time this week to pray about that. Ask God to reveal the places where you've been depending on temporary happiness instead of his lasting joy. And ask him to help you remain connected to him because that's where true joy grows. Next week, we'll continue our journey through the fruit of the spirit as we look at peace. Not the kind of peace that the world offers, but the kind of peace Jesus gives that remains steady even in the middle of uncertainty. Until then, I encourage you to spend some time reading John chapter 14, verse 27, and Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. As you read, ask yourself this question: What have I been allowing to steal my peace? I appreciate you so much for spending this time with me today and allowing me to spend this time in the word with you. If this episode encouraged you, challenged you, or gave you something to reflect on, I truly love to hear from you. Leave a review, share the episode with a friend, or let me know what stood out to you the most, or do it all. And don't forget to stay connected with Gospel Girlies throughout the week. You can follow us on Instagram at Gospel Girlies and on TikTok at GospelGirlies with one underscore for encouragement, updates, and conversations beyond the podcast. And you already know for the next few moments, no music, no distractions, no phone, no pressure to perform, just you and God. Remember, inhale, ya, exhale, weigh. All right. Remember to walk boldly, live faithfully, and step into God's plan for you. Because it is greater than anything you could ever imagine. I'll see you next time on Gospel Garlies Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.