The Joy of The Lord

UV 2207/10000 The Joy Of the Lord
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing
Zephaniah 3 v17

Might is certainly not right but the might of God is right, always right. Every morning He brings forth His judgement to light as a sign of His might. The Lord in our hearts and minds is El Shaddai- the Mighty One. He sends an array of forces in our favour like an arrow as long as we stay taut and connected with Him through the Word and prayer like a bow string with the bow. The tighter and stronger the string that ties us to the might of God the more powerfully our lives will fly like arrows to hit the bull’s eye- the purpose of our creation, the purpose of our existence on Earth, the purpose of our redemption, the purpose of our salvation.

The salvation of the Lord is multi-dimensional and holistic touching all aspects of our lives. He saves us from ourselves and our sin, He saves us from others and their sin, He saves us from the tempter and accuser- the enemy of our souls, He saves us from death, He saves us from eternal judgement. Jesus even after saving us intercedes with the Father in heaven on our behalf. After saving us, He rejoices over us as a shepherd who has found his lost sheep, as the poor woman who found her only gold coin. We can imagine Jesus in heaven singing and dancing over us. The angels rejoice with Him. Choirs of a million angels sing with Him. Heavenly music permeates the air. A party starts in heaven every time a sinner is saved and every time a saved sinner or saint obtains victory of any sort.

The reason the Lord is delighted with the salvation of human beings is that His purpose in creation is achieved. He no longer regrets having made us. Project Earth and Humanity is successful. It is time to celebrate. Just as parents celebrate every happy occasion in the lives of their children whether it is a birthday or a milestone in their lives or an achievement, the Lord celebrates our lives. He gives us special gifts on these occasions. When He delights over us, He makes us prosperous in every work of our hands. He blesses our land. He causes it to flow with milk and honey, implying that some blessings will nourish our tender faith like milk strengthens the young ones, some blessings will be so sweet and stick to us like honey. Honey has healing, prophylactic, antiseptic and anti-allergic properties. Each type of honey has distinctive flavours and deals with different allergies as the pollen is extracted from the specific flora of the area. So also the blessings that flow from the joy or delight of the Lord to different individuals will have distinctive properties. The joy of the Lord becomes our source of strength, nourishment, sustenance, provision, protection, enablement. The secret is that when we delight in what the Lord delights in, He gives us the desires of our heart though not the desires of our flesh or minds.

Prateep V Philip