I Will Be Joyful Series

The water is verse 13 is from without and has to be replenished but the water in verse 14

"bubbles up" from within.

A BUBBLING BABY, A BUBBLING JOY

On September 23, 1930, early in the morning a baby boy was born in Albany, Georgia. At that moment, of course, his family had no way of knowing that this bouncing baby boy would grow up to become one of the most beloved and respected singers and entertainers of all time. He had to triumph over numerous hardships and tragedies along the way, but he did it with style and grace.

When the boy was five years old, he became gravely ill and gradually began to lose his eyesight. By the age of seven he was completely blind. Undaunted, the boy soon learned Braille, and a few years later he began to develop his musical talent by learning to play the piano. When he was fifteen, he became an orphan. Think of that: He was blind, he was orphaned, and he was only fifteen years old. But despite all of that, he refused to give up or give in. He kept working with his music and developing his talent.

At age seventeen, he moved to Seattle where he organized a musical trio, and he began performing. In 1952, at the age of twenty-two, he signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records, and ultimately became a world-famous recording artis and performer.

His creative genius and soulful energy, his heartfelt sensitivity, his joy in performing the music shown in his beautiful God given voice. He and the music become one. The music seems to flow freely out of him, and it seems to come from deep, deep, within his spirit.

While being interviewed on television he was ask, "Not too long ago I watched you perform two different concerts on successive nights, and in both concerts you sang your classic hit "Georgia", but each time you sang it, you did it differently." The entertainer replied, "That's right! Every time, I do it differently, because, you see, I don't learn music by notes. I just let it bubble out of my soul!"

If Christ is living in you, then you will be like Ray Charles and his music. The joy of the Lord will bubble out of your soul and affect everyone around you.

SOURCE: "Some Folks Feel the Rain, Others Just Get Wet" by James W. Moore, ISBN 0-687-07754-0; 1999.

b. Our response to the Spirit

What about our response to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit? Our response is critical for it will determine whether we progress or regress in joy. The key to understanding what is needed is found in verse 25.

Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ESV

The word, "...walk..." is translated row as in walk in a line, for instance like soldiers marching into battle. We must walk in line with the Holy Spirit's guidance and direction.

D. L. Moody has expressed it so well: "...Joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can't see and doesn't know anything about. The Lord gives His people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him"