The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
“Joy”
On the surface, it can seem to be one of the most unlikely and impossible of commands found in Scripture:
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
First, let us consider that God cannot command us to do anything beyond possibility. His integrity will not allow such injustice, any more than I could justly tell my granddaughter Evelyn to cut our grass (she cannot reach the handles of the lawn mower). Of course, all must be done by His presence, guidance, motivation, and enabling - “through Christ” (Philippians 4:13). All can be done thereby in the believer who determines to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). Thus, the seemingly mountainous mandate that calls us to rejoice always must be viewed in terms of the possible, and even more, the vital and necessary.
Let us also ponder the truth that joy, as defined by Scripture, does not primarily mean happiness. It rather speaks of a deeply settled assurance of the spirit, whereby regardless of condition, circumstance, situation, or emotion, we reckon that all is ultimately well. We know this about joy because the Apostle Paul speaks of being “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (II Corinthians 6:10). Indeed, the believer can feel overwhelmed emotionally, physically, and in every human sensation. He can nevertheless rejoice as a matter of choice, based on the God he knows, loves, trusts, and to whom He looks for the enabling to obey in all things.
As in… “rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice.” The dual command involves our determination to rejoice in both God Himself and in His doings. We trust His heart and His hand that He fulfills the countless promises of His Word as He abides in presence, involvement, care, and working in all things for those who love Him (Romans 8:28-29). This does not mean that we will always understand His way in our lives, or that it will not greatly challenge and even perplex us (as Paul confessed regarding his own experience - II Corinthians 4:8). The choice to rejoice often arises in broken hearts, from pained bodies, and by bewildered minds that cannot fathom God’s ways, but nevertheless cast themselves upon the perfect integrity of His character. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” declared battered Job, who knew something about a joy that abode somewhere deep in the heart, even as all else seemed destroyed (Job 13:15).
The issue involves not our faith, but rather the faithfulness of God. Is He who He is? Does He and can He do what He promises to do? We know the answers. We understand that God cannot lie, nor fail to act in accordance with the perfection of His character, nature, and way (Titus 1:2; II Samuel 22:31). Nothing will approach us in this lifetime that makes impossible our determination to rejoice, and then again, to rejoice. Do we believe this? If our flesh does not offer numerous rationalizations as we initially ponder the matter, we are likely not thinking about the matter seriously enough. However, if in our spirits, the light does not shine upon the truth of God as able to enable us in the matter of joy, we must ponder and pray a bit more earnestly. He commands our joy in the assurance of His ability to inspire our joy, again, our settled assurance in the midst of all things that all is ultimately well. This is truth. This is reality. This is the infinitely faithful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is our joy. He is our joy.
A final thought. We live in days wherein calamity from around the world presents itself to our attention, sometimes almost instantaneously. Our hearts rightly grieve and even break as we see the hearts of others shattered by sorrow and suffering. In those times, however, we do well to see another Heart always present, able, and willing to reveal His help, comfort, and yes, His joy in even the greatest loss. I recall seeing an interview years ago with a woman who had lost everything in a storm, including a loved one. She wept and could barely speak. But with her voice she said faintly, but with a faith obviously sincere and trusting, “I don’t know what I am going to do. But I know the Lord will take care of me.” I am sure He did, because in the moment when the settled assurance of joy seemingly could not be present in her heart, it was. He was for our sister who discovered what we will find as we choose to believe we can rejoice because “God, my exceeding joy” is who He is, and does what He does (Psalm 43:4).
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations.”
(James 1:2)
“The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing.”
(Psalm 41:3).
Weekly Memory Verse
Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth.
(John 17:17)
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