"WE
WILL KNOW JOY!"
"But
let all those that put their trust in thee
rejoice: let them ever shout for joy . . .
" Psalm 5:11 The lyrics from a Christian song
prompted me to write this message. These words
continually run through my mind ~ I hope they
do yours also: "We will know joy ~ we wil know
peace ~ when we hear Him say, 'Well done!'
We'll come before the throne of God ~ we will
know joy when we see Jesus!"
"Joy" is one of God's great gifts! His
Kingdom, "is righteousness, peace, and joy
in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Paul
prays in behalf of his readers that God may "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" (Romans 15:13).
The fruit of the Spirit is like a string of
precious pearls, including these: "Love,
joy, peace, patience . . ." (Galatians
5:22). "Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors thy ways; and
sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Psalm 51:12,13
The
chief source of the joy of Christians is Jesus
Christ, who, having completed our salvation,
rose from the dead to put our joy on a firm
and permanent footing. "For what is our
hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not
even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and
joy." 1Thessalonians 2:19,20 Paul says
that one of the great things he anticipates
when Christ comes to take His church will be
the opportunity to see these people whom he
has led to the Lord. The Thessalonian
believers whom he had won to Christ were a joy
for him here and will be hereafter.
By
the way, is anyone going to be in heaven who
will come up to you and thank you for having a
part in giving out the Word of God? Have you
given your support to missions? If you have,
someone you have never known, someone from the
other side of the earth, may come up to you
and thank you for your support. He will thank
you for being interested in getting out the
Word of God that reached him and enabled him
to be saved! That, dear friend, is going to be
part of the reward that we will get in heaven.
It is a wonderful hope to look forward to the
time when Christ Jesus takes the church out of
this world. It is even more joyous to know
that someone who trusted Christ because of
your witness will go along with you to meet
the Lord!
"And
ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost."
1Thessalonians 1:6 There is not a person today
who is enjoying the world's entertainment and
is suffering at the same time. The world
cannot put these two together. Paul says that
the Word was received "in much affliction" ~
there was suffering, persecution, and
heartache. But there was the joy of the Holy
Spirit also. That is the bittersweet of life;
like the Chinese dish they call "sweet and
sour." For the Christian there can be that
which is sour and bitter in life, while at the
same time there is sweetness in the heart and
life.
"And
not only so, but we also joy in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now
received the atonement." Romans 5:11 We
joy in God! What an awesome statement! It
means that right now, wherever you are,
whatever your problems are, you can joy,
rejoice, in God. Just think of it! You can
rejoice that He lives and that He is who He
is. You can rejoice because He has provided a
salvation for us and is willing to save us
sinners and bring us into His presence
someday. He has worked a plan to save us
because of His love for us. Isn't that enough
to make us rejoice?
"My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
divers temptations." James 1:2 "Divers
temptations" means various trials. In other
words, when you are having trouble, don't
start crying as if something terrible has
happened to you. You are to rejoice and count
it all joy that God is testing you in this
way! People piously say that they have
accepted God's will, yet go around with long
faces and weep half the time. However, you are
not reconciled to the will of God until you
can rejoice.
"Now
unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and
ever. Amen." Jude 24-25 If you want to
know the place that Jesus Christ should have
in your life, especially in these days of
apostasy, here it is in this marvelous
benediction. "Through Jesus Christ our Lord" ~
He is God. And He is our Lord ~ He should be
the Lord of our lives. Glory should be given
to Him. We should glorify Him, tell how great
He is, how wonderful He is, how mighty He is
and mighty to save! He is majestic, the King
of kings and Lord of lords. He is mighty ~ all
power is given unto Him in heaven and in
earth.
This universe has not slipped from under His
control. All authority belongs to Him, and one
day we are going to bow our knee to Him! "And
now shall mine head be lifted up above mine
enemies round about me: therefore will I offer
in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will
sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord."
Psalm 27:6 This is how the psalmist determined
to express his joy: with sacrifices of
thanksgiving, with shouts of joy, with singing
and making music to God. We should be doing
this as well!
Aside from the great gift of salvation, God
grants other gifts, and these prompt our joy
and thanks: the birth of a new baby, recovery
from illness, doing well in school, better
opportunities at work, enjoyable, safe travel,
visits with friends. Since it is from God that
all blessings flow, it is only right that we
thank Him.
Heavenly Father, grant that we may find joy in
serving others. Help us to rely on the power
of the Holy Spirit, so that our words will be
reflected from Your Word. Lord Jesus, You are
our priceless treasure, our truest Friend, and
we thank You for bringing joy into our lives.
Amen.
God Bless You All as you have a "joyous" day.
And remember as you begin your day, no matter
how feeble the light, let it shine as best it
may. The world may need just that quality of
light which you have.
