Nehemiah 8:10 says,…"the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Jesus was able to draw strength from His hope in the promise of joy to endure the agony of the cross.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
By faith Jesus was able to tap into the substance (joy) even though outwardly (things not seen) there was only extreme pain. His faith allowed Him to enter into supernatural strength to overcome in the trial he was enduring.
Now in our lives we will never experience a trial such as Jesus did in bearing the sin of the world, but we will experience trials while on this earth. Jesus modeled that the thermostat of our heart is not controlled by outward circumstances but by faith in the promises of God.
In John 15 before He is preparing for His crucifixion, Jesus was teaching His disciples a kind of summary of the things He had been sharing with them over the course of the three years He had been ministering among them, and He was exhorting them to love when He said,
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
I think it is quite remarkable, that Jesus would say at that point in His ministry that the main reason He shared all of His teachings on the Father's heart, and on the Kingdom of God, was so that His disciples would have fullness of joy!
If this is true (which it is) than the sign of true reverence to God would be a life overflowing with hope and joy. The devil tries to convince us that this is not true, because he knows that great power would be released in the church to destroy his kingdom of darkness if we were experiencing this level of joy. The devil is working so hard to make us think that reverence for God is to be very serious looking and stoic. He is trying to convince us that God doesn’t have emotions, and that He looks more like “Honest Abe” sitting at the Lincoln Monument in Washington, than a happy father singing and dancing over His children, as He is revealed as doing in Zephaniah 3:17 GNT,
“The Lord your God is with you; His power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you, as joyful as people at a festival.”
Furthermore, the book of Hebrews explains the joy that Jesus has,
“You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” Hebrews 1:9 NLT
Ok, so picture the most joyful person you know; ok now realize that Jesus is, and was, and will always be way more joyful that that person you are thinking of. The scripture said that Jesus is more joyful than any other person ever!
The Bible also says that God is blessed forever. If you look up the Greek word for blessed you will find out that it literally means to be really happy.
So be God-like brothers and sisters and overflow with joy and happiness, and be reverent to God by dancing and singing like drunk people at a festival!
*Ephesians 5:18* on the Holy Spirit not alcohol of course. : )
Tyler Worley
Dude!! This is really good stuff. The Lord has surely blessed you with wisdom and the ability to describe it so well in these posts. Very Inspiring
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