Joy That Cannot Be Taken

Scripture Reading: Acts 13:13-52

And the disciples were filled with joy 

and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:52 

There is a joy the world cannot give—and more wonderfully, cannot take away. It flows not from favorable circumstances, but from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas had just faced bitter opposition. The people of Antioch, stirred by jealousy, drove them out. Yet Scripture says: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” This joy was not the absence of conflict but the presence of God. It came not from applause or ease, but from a heart made alive in communion with Christ.

This is the gift of the Holy Spirit—to fill our hearts with unshakable joy, peace, and boldness in every season. Romans 15:13 declares, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The early Christians were not merely resilient; they were radiant. Persecution did not extinguish their joy—it clarified its source. The more they were filled with the Spirit, the more they rejoiced. And the same Spirit lives in us today.

How do we receive this joy? By asking. By welcoming the Spirit. By yielding, daily, moment by moment. Not with striving, but with quiet surrender: “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Prayer:

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me again with the joy of Christ, a joy no sorrow can quench, no trial can drown. Let me live today with boldness, with gratitude, and with a deep awareness of Your presence. May Your joy be my strength and my song. Amen.

♪ Veni Sancte Spiritus ♪