JOY
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14
Joy, what is it really? To Christians, joy has a deep meaning rooted in the knowledge of God’s love. Joy is not an emotion like happiness or feeling giddy. It is not fleeting. Joy is a state of steadfastness. It is a form of contentment and confident hope. Joy is a mindset and a matter of the heart.
Yesterday’s blog discussed the gift of love. Love had to be discussed first because it is the source of all other gifts. As Christians we continually grow in our knowledge and understanding of God’s love for us. As we begin to internalize the fact that we are His children and he will never abandon us, we gain a sense of confidence and trust. That is joy!
Joy is not based on circumstance. The world can fall apart around us, yet we will not lose hope. Oh, we will have emotions, but deep within us is where we will find joy. We have joy in knowing that irregardless of the situation, our salvation is being worked out through this trial.
Paul is the greatest author of joy in the Bible. We must know that his situations did not make him happy. In 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 he tells us his ministry story... he was put in jail, whipped, and faced death. He was give thirty-nine lashes on 5 different accounts. He was beaten with rods, stoned, and shipwrecked. He faced natural disasters, faced robbers, hungered, and then told us to “consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2) Paul’s joy came from the fact that he was walking in relationship with Jesus and other believers. It came from knowing whose he was and where he was headed.
The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) As we come to know whose we are, our confidence rises. We begin to act boldly in the name of the Lord. The knowledge of our salvation and the security in which we live produce our state of joy.
Choose JOY!
(First Published December 14, 2013)
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