Joy Is a Well You Draw From, Not a Wish You Make
Stop Waiting for Joy: The Spirit Within Says You Belong
Galatians 4:4–7, Romans 8:14–17, John 7:37–39
As I studied for this message, I realized something I rarely talk about and almost completely overlook day to day: joy. It made me reflect on how little joy I actually experience, how unbiblical that is, and how essential joy is to our walk with God.
Joy has become a seasonal treat
A few years ago, Keilah and I hosted a foreign exchange student named Jacob from Germany. One day I came home with a bag of clementines, and Jacob was surprised. "You guys eat these year round?" In Germany, he explained, clementines are a Christmas thing, a seasonal treat.
I realized I've had the German clementine approach to joy. When the season is right, when God answers a prayer, when worship is clicking, when I see God do something amazing, joy makes sense. But the Bible has the American clementine approach: joy is available year round, not just on limited, isolated occasions.
The wishing well approach
I have a list of things I put in the daily category: prayer, Bible study, worship, praise, even lament. Joy wasn't on that list. Instead, I took what I call the wishing well approach. I'd throw a coin in by showing up to church or opening my Bible and hope I'd experience some joy. Hoping, but not actually expecting.
Who said joy had to be limited? The world did, because the world has conflated joy with happiness. Happiness is contingent on what's happening around you. It is limited in scope and in longevity. Joy is not based on external factors. It's based on an internal reality.
So here is the main thing I want you to take away: joy is a well you draw from, not a wish you make.
To be clear, this is not a call to fake happiness. Biblical joy doesn't ignore suffering or tragedy or plaster a smile over pain. It means that in the middle of it, you have something to draw from that gives you strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
The cry changed from "help" to "joy"
In Galatians 4:4–7, Paul writes that God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, so that we might receive adoption as sons, and "because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'"
I always read "crying" as desperation, a child crying out for help. That image isn't wrong; Peter cried "save me" as he sank. But in context, Paul is writing to a church drifting back into the law, reminding them of the good news they've already stepped into.
Think about how Jesus was received when He was born of a woman. The shepherds praised God. Mary sang. Zechariah's mouth was opened in praise. Simeon and Anna recognized the Messiah. People were still crying out, but no longer for salvation. They were crying out in joy because salvation had come.
Then Paul uses the same language in verse 6: God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. I believe Paul is subtly communicating that we receive the Spirit the same way Jesus was received: with joy. And because the Spirit doesn't come and leave but abides with us, as Jesus promised ("I will not leave you as orphans"), this isn't a joyous occasion. It's a joyous reality.
The orphan cries to belong; the child cries because they belong
The Spirit's joy sounds like this: I have a Father. It's not a cry of waiting. The orphan lives in constant uncertainty, crying out, "I want to belong. I want a home." But the son or daughter who has received the Spirit is crying out because they belong.
The Spirit is the witness to your adoption
In Romans 8:14–17, Paul says the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Roman law required a witness to validate an adoption. Paul shows three parties: the Father who adopts, we who are adopted, and the Spirit as the witness.
When the accuser comes after a hard week and says, "If you were really a child of God, you never would have said or done that," the witness in your heart says, "No. I saw the transaction with my own eyes." The Spirit is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephesians 1). No accusation can undo what He witnessed.
So when the Spirit says, "Child," your heart says, "Father." You are giving language to what the Spirit is already testifying.
There is a river within you
In John 7:37–39, Jesus cried out, "Whoever believes in me… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water," speaking of the Spirit. That's the same place Paul says the Spirit was sent: your heart. It isn't a river you go find. It's within you, so you can drink any time.
I play a lot of sports, and nothing works right when I'm dehydrated. What if prayer feels difficult and Bible study feels laborious because you haven't hydrated spiritually? You pray differently, study differently, and show up to church differently when you're secure that you belong to the Father.
Paul says, "Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." The world calls alcohol "liquid courage," a counterfeit that makes people lose self-awareness and get bold. When you drink of the Spirit, you lose your people-pleasing nature and grow bold about your testimony and who God is.
Drink first
Here's what I've been practicing: drinking first. Before I jump into prayer, the Word, worship, or serving, I come to the river within me and satisfy myself in the Lord. I'm not making requests or studying anything. I'm simply enjoying the Spirit of adoption who says "child," and saying back, "God, thank You that I'm a child of the Most High."
It's time to stop waiting for joy and start drinking from the well that is within you.
Key ideas
Joy is a well you draw from, not a wish you make. Many believers treat joy like a seasonal treat or a coin tossed in a wishing well: hoped for, never expected. Scripture presents it as a daily, consistent experience.
Joy is not happiness. Happiness depends on external circumstances and is limited in scope and longevity. Joy rests on an internal reality, so it can hold even in suffering, without becoming fake happiness.
The cry of "Abba, Father" is a cry of joy, not only desperation. Just as Jesus was received with joy when He was born of a woman, believers receive the Spirit of the Son with joy. Because the Spirit abides, this is a joyous reality, not a joyous occasion.
The Spirit is the witness to your adoption. Drawing on Roman adoption law, Paul shows the Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are God's children. When the Spirit says "child," our heart answers "Father," and no accusation can undo what the witness saw.
Drink first. Jesus promised rivers of living water flowing from within (John 7:38). Before praying, studying, worshiping, or serving, believers can satisfy themselves in the Lord by enjoying their identity as His children.
