Tag: rejoicing

It’s Not About What Is or What Is Not Working Out

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It is never written in Scripture, “Thou shalt have a sour life.” Neither is it written that all our days will be favorable and turn out how we want it. But what is written is that we can still rejoice (Philippians 4:4).

Repeatedly the Bible tells the story of joy.

Yes, I know we see the battles and the ups and downs of the human heart and life, but the Word expresses the presence of joy from its beginning to its end.

But most miss out on it because joy for them is not found where they are looking.

For the saint, joy is not a passing fling of emotion nor is it contingent upon circumstances where most identify their source of joy.

It’s a holy takeover on the inside that overrides the human viewpoint, logic, or feelings. It’s something beautiful, an almost unexplainable feeling on the inside because of this holy connection with the Father.

How else could the apostles rejoice at being beaten for the Lord (Acts 5:41)? How else could psalms be written that see by faith the joy ahead though one is enduring the weeping of night (Psalm 30:5)? How is it that Habakkuk writes of failures and things not working out as one had hoped for (3:17), and yet, still declare, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18)?

Because at the center of all these lives, as Habakkuk so eloquently put it, God is the reason for their joy. Not what is or what is not working out in their lives.

So much so, the psalmist, in the middle of his lament for vindication and troubles, still recognizes God as his “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4), refocusing his heart even in the middle of hurt.

David also, receiving forgiveness and restoration after the confession of his sin with Bathsheba, wrote the command, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11).

Are you struggling to find joy today? Psalms encourages us, “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…” (70:4).

Where are you looking for joy?

Real joy, regardless of circumstance, can only be found where those in Scripture found their joy: in God alone through our Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself looked past the pain of the cross (Hebrews 12:2), found joy in God the Father and His plan of salvation that would be for the redeeming of those who would turn to Him.

We find our joy in the presence and person of God in our lives. For as the holy Scriptures say, “Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 144:15).

Text Free Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay

Make God’s Word Louder!

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With arms loaded with bags, I walk toward my car in the grocery store parking lot.  I have been jumping about from store to store all day and the exhaustion is wearing on me.  Daily tasks, daily chores, and daily work – we all have them.  Life does not allow us to be sedentary.  So, off we go on the adventure and calling of the day’s demands.

Carrying my bags, I approached the car when a gentle reminder of God’s presence appeared to me.  There, bouncing about underneath, a little sparrow getting on with his day reminds me of the sovereign and omniscient hand of the Lord in my life.  The thought of Him that knows the life of that little sparrow knows me also, even to the point that all the hairs on my head are numbered, fills me with encouragement.

Jesus, Himself, tells us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). 

Yet, many awake to experience news that shatters and devastates their day.  And in the middle of it all, fear tries to have a voice.  Through uncertain and unsettling times, fear tries to magnify itself. 

But I want to encourage you today, no matter how many bags of stuff you are carrying and no matter how hard the work of life before you may be, make God’s Word louder!  If there was ever a time when we needed to drown out the world’s noise and build ourselves even more in the Word of God, that time is now!

God’s Word contains the perfect recipe for a well-ordered life, with its challenges and successes.  Our response and reaction to the times we live in are found in the perfect truth written in those pages.  It is always right and always true, not only for the days in which it was physically written but for today as well.  God’s Word never goes out of style.  The psalmist said, “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). 

What that means for us is it is never faulty (Psalm 33:4) and it will never fail (Joshua 23:14; 1 Kings 8:56). 

So, Jesus speaks comfort in the Word against the chaos around, and He speaks faith and strength against fear.  His word can build you up (Acts 20:32), encourage you, and save you if you let it (James 1:21).  Paul taught, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Colossians 3:16).  Fill yourself with more of Him.  The more we are filled with the Word, the less room we have in our being for junk.  A healthy Christian fills his/her appetite with the good, nourishing power of the Word of God: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). 

Friend, make God’s Word louder in your life.  One surefire way to do that is to get it into your heart richly, overflowing His joy, truth, peace, and comfort in your life. 

Here are some promises of assurance to store in your heart and turn up the volume of your faith today to make God’s Word louder against all the other noise you hear:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:10

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:” – Isaiah 26:3, 4

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” – Proverbs 3:5-8

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

Who indeed?  Friend, there are so many written promises God has deposited and inspired in His Word that I cannot possibly write them all here.  But if you desire more, and I hope that you do, just read the Word, for the whole of His Holy Book speaks of Him and His promises both now and forever.

His Word is speaking louder against the troubles we see.  It is saying, that He is with us and that we don’t have to be afraid: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Believe it.

Ye Shall Laugh!

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“Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.” Luke 6:21

Many of us have been well acquainted with tears on more than one occasion.  Tears or weeping are most often shed in times of sorrow; during times of hardship and anguish.  Crying gives one an opportunity to release those pinned-up emotions that stress the body and soul of man.

Whether this weeping is associated with sorrow of sin or because of adversity of the wicked, those that endure through it now will find a time when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying…” (Revelation 21:4).

“For ye shall laugh,” the Bible says.  Where there is laughter, joy has replaced the sorrow that was once felt.  Where there is laughter, a release is felt from the oppression of the wicked.  David once wrote, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers…” (Psalm 37:1).  If they are the source of tears, forget about it.  He goes on to say, “The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming,” (Psalm 37:13).  When God laughs, as His followers, we will share in the same joy as our Savior.

The Bible says, He will “appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” (Isaiah 61:3), and they will be able to “laugh!”

God has this promise for His people: it won’t always look like this. There will come a time to laugh. Joy is on the horizon!

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Psalm 5:11

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Psalm 126:5

And, they shall laugh!

“For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

“Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.” Job 8:21

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” Psalm 16:9

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” Psalm 30:11

“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

“Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:11

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:8

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“Sing!”

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“And I saw as it were . . . them that had gotten the victory . . . and they sing the song,” Revelation 15:2-3, KJV

Songs.  Movements of the heart and soul.  I don’t know how they come about.  Do they start with words that won’t let the mind rest until the lyrics are expressed?  Or, is it a tune, a melodious humming in one’s being that beckons to become more?

Songs come and go at any time and there’s one for every occasion.  Most great songs come from one’s life experiences.  Whether in good times or bad, happy or sad, the man inside calls for a tune to join the ceremony.

Songs express joy and times of rejoicing.  A good song motivates one when it’s hard to push forward in life and lifts one out of times of sadness.  We see the power of this type of inspiring music in 1 Samuel 16:23, when David played the harp before Saul and the evil spirit left him.

Music is no doubt powerful.  The most precious and heartfelt songs come after times of hardship and struggles.  When we have gone through the wringer of life, made it to the other side, and have squeezed out a heart that expresses gratefulness to God.  Music that tells the world that yes, it was hard, but I made it to the other side.  After crossing the Red Sea did not Miriam put a tambourine in her hand and say, “Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously,” (Exodus 15:21, KJV)?

In the book of Revelation, we see songs of deliverance going up before God.  They had overcome “the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having harps of God,” (Rev. 15:2, KJV).  And, what did they do?  “They sing!” (Rev. 15:3, KJV).  Their praise cannot be constrained any longer.  They have never felt freer than when they had overcome.  That kind of joy starts to seep out every crevice of one’s being until it pours over in song, releasing praise to God!

Music and songs are wrought throughout the Bible.  The psalmist exhorts us to “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing,” (Ps. 100:1-2, KJV).  When the Assyrians were prophesied to be destroyed, Isaiah 30:29 emphatically declares, “Ye shall have a song!” (KJV).  When Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises, the earth quaked and prison doors were opened (Acts 16:25-26).  After the Last Supper, “they had sung a hymn,” (Mk. 14:26, KJV).  James said, “Is any merry? let him sing psalms,” (Ja. 5:13, KJV).

Sing!

Sing!

Sing!

I don’t have the best voice but I have praise in my soul that I have to let out!

Sing!

I’m shy in front of other people, but I’m living to please an audience of one!  It doesn’t have to be in front of a crowd (yikes!).  Praise can wring out of your spirit at any time and in any place.

Just, Sing!

Give your heart – your spirit – your soul permission to rejoice.  God has been so good to us – so, Sing!

You are an overcomer also.  “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us,” (Rom. 8:37, KJV).

So, SING!

Those in Revelations had every right to sing, and so do you.  Just sing!  He’s worthy of it today!

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.