Living His WordSample

When was the last time you spoke to a fellow Christian using a psalm, a hymn, or a spiritual song? If you’re honest, you’ll probably have to admit that something like that doesn’t happen very often in your life. Maybe the great heroes of the faith did things like that, maybe the Apostle Paul did things like that, but the rest of us seem to function at a lower standard operating level of spiritual joy.

The Bible, however, seems to teach that a spirit filled with joy is available to the average Christian. We have the fruit of the Spirit, one of which is joy (Galatians 5:22). Jesus told us that “no one will take away our joy” (John 16:22), and that we will have the full measure of His joy (John 17:13). Peter said that because we believe in Jesus we are “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). Maybe the resources of joy necessary to start speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are there after all.

On the other hand, there are things that can quench our joy. Getting drunk, Paul seems to be saying in our verse for today, is diametrically opposed to being filled with the Spirit and overflowing in song. No doubt we could all think of things to add to a list of joy-quenchers. No doubt, anything in our walk of life that stands opposed to the Spirit-filled life tends to steal joy.

The key, then, to a spirit full of song is to turn from the joy-quenchers like getting drunk and do what Paul says---get filled with the Spirit. Do all the things we know from experience build us up in the Spirit: reading the Bible, worship, prayer, going to church, listening to Christian music, etc.

Who knows? Perhaps the next time a fellow believer walks by, you’ll sense a song welling up from deep within.