Devo 9/16
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But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
Over 200 times the Bible speaks about joy - more than 230 times it tells us to rejoice - the verb form of joy.
But what is joy?
Webster: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
Dictionary.com: the expression or display of glad feeling
Google: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
But the Bible tells us a different story.
Joy is:
Not earthly pleasure
Not satisfaction with our circumstances
Not happiness in our possessions
Not an emotion, not a feeling, not an expression of either of these - because these all change.
But, just like our faith is not based on us but rather the object of our faith, so our joy is not based on us but the object of our joy.
So our joy is real, it is sure, and it is unchanging.
Because our joy is Christ and in being called as His, and that can never change.
Think about how the Bible describes the joy of a believer:
Like the Apostle Paul:
I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
(What Paul suffered)
Or the Thessalonian believers:
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
(What the early church suffered)
What about us?
Well, Jesus Himself told us:
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Our circumstances in this world do not affect our joy - in fact, when everything in this world is against us, it is a reason for joy, because our suffering on account of Jesus and our faith is proof that we are His, and proof that our joy is in Him!
That’s why James can say:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
Because our Lord promises that our suffering - our trials - are a reason for joy!
And Jesus is an authority on earthly suffering.
(What Jesus suffered)
So we do the same with joy:
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Even through His suffering - even through the cross - Jesus’ joy was unwavering, because His joy was in what He would accomplish - and what He accomplished, He accomplished for us.
We are His joy. We are why He joyfully suffered at the hands of sinful men because of our sin.
And because He did, we can rejoice in all circumstances:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
Our joy is before us - it is the completion of our salvation and our eternity with our Lord and Savior! And this is guaranteed because He suffered for us with joy!
What trial, what problem, what suffering can take that joy from us?
The answer is none!
Because Christ is our joy! And He never changes!
May we remember that, and cease to look for joy anywhere but in Him.
