A Heart of Joy

UV 1161/10,000 A Heart of Joy

For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.


Psalm 33 v 21


Our hearts rejoice in the Lord much more than a connoisseur of finest wine takes pleasure in it. The source of our pleasure and delight is our trust in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is a pool of refreshing water, a pillar of strength, a canopy of shelter, the guarantee of our provision and reward, a source of comfort, a promise to honour us, the hope of salvation and eternal life. Eternal life begins here and now. Heaven begins here. His awesome power is revealed to us in our everyday life. His holiness drives a sense of deep reverence into our deepest parts of our souls. Yet, His love draws us near.

It is no mere coincidence that the word “heart” when re-arranged can form the word “earth”. Everything in the earth can be found in the human heart and vice versa: both faith and doubt, violence and gentleness, love and hatred, peace and strife, hope and frustration, kindness and cruelty, mercy and injustice, greatness and pettiness. The kingdom of heaven as well as the kingdom of darkness can dwell in our tiny hearts. Our hearts are most valuable to the Lord. The circumcision of our hearts means all that is not of God needs to excised out of our hearts. When our hearts are so circumcised, it becomes the veritable fountain of joy everlasting. The enemy of our souls knows it and tries to preoccupy our hearts with all possible things of this world, either pleasures or pains to choke our inner life, to make it difficult for us to rejoice or exult in our Lord and Creator. He first of all works with his primary weapon – the doubt whether God exists at all for he knows no man can see him. He uses the power of our eyes to overcome the potential of our hearts to delight in God. But the Lord affirms His holy name as “ I AM ..” His very name means “ I Exist”. His Name is “ Logos”, the Word. It implies that I will do whatever I have said I will do. “ Your eyes may not see me. Your hands cannot touch me but I dwell in your hearts.” We do not see our own hearts. Neither can we touch it. Yet no man exists who thinks he does not have a heart.

We trust in the Name of the Lord. We believe in His character as revealed in His Word and in His interactions with us this far. Our dealings with Him are not merely transactional but relational. When we trust in His Name as Jehovah EL Shaddai, we are confessing or declaring first to ourselves and then to others that we rejoice in His might. As the young virgin Mary beholden with the holy infant said, “ My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. He regards the low estate of His handmaiden. He that is mighty has done great things for me.” Mary became God’s surrogate. When we trust in His Name as Jireh, we rejoice in all that He has provided for us thus far and all that He will provide for us for our every need- emotional, spiritual, intellectual, material, financial, familial, physical and social. When we trust in His Name as Rapha, we delight in His healing- preventive and curative. When we trust in His Name as Jehovah Nissi, we rejoice in the victories He gives us over our own hidden sin, over our mortal foes, rivals and adversaries, over every work of the enemy to depress, weaken and overcome us.

Application:

Let us celebrate today as a festival of joy recalling and delighting in all that the Lord has done for us both collectively and individually..