JOY
05th Jul 2023
What is your joy level? Reading Isaiah 12:3 “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” set me thinking about the importance of living at all times with joy. As I read that verse, a song came into my mind -
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
Out of the wells of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say,
Praise the Lord.”
Joy is so important in the lives of believers; Jesus told His disciples, that after the
resurrection, “I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Later he says, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be full.” (John 16:22-24)
There is a great difference between ‘joy’ and ‘happiness’ - Happiness come from what is going on around you ‘happenings’ - but joy comes from drawing on the infinite resources of heaven. ‘The wells of salvation’ contain all that you need in life: peace, forgiveness, blessing, answered prayer and miraculous resources.
George Muller recognised that each day he needed to check his joy level. One of the biographies of his life is entitled ‘Delighted in God.’ The demands of feeding and caring for hundreds of orphans meant that his faith needed to be alive and active. If he allowed problems to overwhelm him, he would be in trouble.
Paul, when he was teaching the Philippian believers to pray about everything in life, started by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
Probably the most well known verse about ‘joy’ in the Bible is Nehemiah 8:10, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The people has just completed building the wall around Jerusalem it had been a challenging task. Now they were instructed to go, enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and rejoice.
Joy stems from our relationship with God, His love for us and his unlimited blessings. The cirumstances that we are living through may be challenging and difficult, but the joy that God gives can lift us up and fill us with what Peter wrote in his letter, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)
by Charles Sibthorpe
