The Necessity of Joy

UV 622/10,000 The Necessity of Joy “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” Philippians 4 v 4 With a little re-arrangement of our attitudes, we can make our lives either awful or awesome. As Einstein said, “ There are two ways of living: as if nothing is a miracle and as if everything is a miracle.” If we treat nothing as a miracle, it will be awful, lonely, hopeless, boring, gloomy, short and nasty. If we treat everything as a miracle, life will be awesome, joyful, hopeful, eternal, exciting, wonderful and fulfilling. We need to make our choices. The Word says “ rejoice in the Lord.” It again reiterates and re-affirms: “ Rejoice.” Elsewhere in scripture it says, “ Rejoice in all circumstances.” God is apparently not a joy killer. satan is. The Lord said that when we ask in Jesus name, we will receive so that " our joy shall be full." Hence, the purpose of God as far as mankind is concerned is that " our joy shall be full." We do not make our joy dependent on our circumstances. If we do, we will be subject to huge mood swings from exultation when things are going swell and well and deep depression when things are going the other way. Our joy is dependent on the Lord. Our joy is dependent on our belief that God is good and absolutely good. Our joy is dependent on what delights Him. “ The joy of the Lord is our strength.” The Word alone describes and details the things the Lord delights in. It is a false expression that has come into the English language that “ the devil is in the details.” The truth is that God is in the details of our lives. When we know that He is intimately involved in the intimate details of our circumstances, we have a sense of assurance and confidence that gives rise to an inner joy. Looking at creation around us itself will cause us to rejoice: the sunrise, the dew on the grass, the cool breeze, the chirping birds, the chatter of children, the blooming flowers… If we take these things that surround us for granted, that they merely came into existence on their own, there is no cause of rejoicing. When we recall that not a blade of grass grows on the other eight planets of the Solar System as these planets were control planets to prove again and again that nothing comes into being on its own, it will cause us to acknowledge the Creator of not just the solar system but the entire universe. Infinite God desired to reveal Himself to finite man in the course of history through His Word in the Old Testament days and through His only Son Jesus in the New Covenant days. This should be a cause of continual rejoicing in our hearts. That the Son of God chose to bear our sins and endure the consequences of death, shame and punishment on our behalf is a cause of personal rejoicing. The very word, “ person” that each of us humans take for granted is due to the fact that we are “sons” of God(of course “son” includes daughters) as the root word “ son “ would indicate. The victories that the Lord has given us this far in our struggles in life are another cause of rejoicing. The hope of eternal life is another fount of joy.