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The Joy of the Lord is My Strength
Does God have emotions? It seems clear that He does. Many different emotions are attributed to God in the Bible. When you picture/imagine God's face, what expression is on it? Is He angry, sad, somber or happy? Is He engaged, bored, or disinterested? What's His expression as He is looking at you?
It doesn't take long when contemplating God to realize that He is more than we can ever fully comprehend. He is not limited by time; He is omnipresent as well as omniscient; how could we ever understand what He feels at a given moment - as if He were only concerned about one thing, setting or situation? What we do know, however, is that God is never threatened by His circumstances. He is above and beyond all that He has created. So, God is wholly at peace in Himself. We also know that God was pleased with His creation, and very pleased with His creation of mankind. (Genesis 1)
I don't know if God lives in any one pervasive or most constant emotion, but it seems that He is generally a God of joy. Joy is used to describe God and/or His people over 240 times in the Bible. God takes pleasure in what He has created, and His desire is that we would take pleasure in Him and in His Kingdom. The Shorter Westminster Catechism says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." And John Piper went a step further in his book, Desiring God, to say, "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
Joy energizes us for life. The people of God were confronted with God's Word when Ezra read it, they raised their hands in praise and bowed down in worship, and they began to weep as they considered their ways. Then Nehemiah said, "This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) Recognizing God's delight in our heart responses to Him gives us cause for rejoicing. His joy releases our joy, and joy strengthens us for life and living. "For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross." (Hebrews 12:2) Seeing/imagining the Father's joy in His obedience, and believing in His own joy to come when He would be united with His Father in heaven, Jesus had the strength and ability to endure the cross to the point of death.
Laying hold of the joy of the Lord through thanks and praise energizes your faith and life. That is why the apostle Paul entreated his readers by saying, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) Why does this strengthen us? It is because when we rejoice we are enjoining ourselves with His joyful state. We are becoming one with God, and enjoying Him.
Why not take a moment right now, and raise you eyes, hands and heart to God? Thank Him for whatever comes to your mind; praise Him for Who He is and how He has revealed Himself to you; take time to enjoy Him and experience His joy. "The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Rejoicing in and Enjoying God with you,
Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org
It doesn't take long when contemplating God to realize that He is more than we can ever fully comprehend. He is not limited by time; He is omnipresent as well as omniscient; how could we ever understand what He feels at a given moment - as if He were only concerned about one thing, setting or situation? What we do know, however, is that God is never threatened by His circumstances. He is above and beyond all that He has created. So, God is wholly at peace in Himself. We also know that God was pleased with His creation, and very pleased with His creation of mankind. (Genesis 1)
I don't know if God lives in any one pervasive or most constant emotion, but it seems that He is generally a God of joy. Joy is used to describe God and/or His people over 240 times in the Bible. God takes pleasure in what He has created, and His desire is that we would take pleasure in Him and in His Kingdom. The Shorter Westminster Catechism says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." And John Piper went a step further in his book, Desiring God, to say, "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
Joy energizes us for life. The people of God were confronted with God's Word when Ezra read it, they raised their hands in praise and bowed down in worship, and they began to weep as they considered their ways. Then Nehemiah said, "This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) Recognizing God's delight in our heart responses to Him gives us cause for rejoicing. His joy releases our joy, and joy strengthens us for life and living. "For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross." (Hebrews 12:2) Seeing/imagining the Father's joy in His obedience, and believing in His own joy to come when He would be united with His Father in heaven, Jesus had the strength and ability to endure the cross to the point of death.
Laying hold of the joy of the Lord through thanks and praise energizes your faith and life. That is why the apostle Paul entreated his readers by saying, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) Why does this strengthen us? It is because when we rejoice we are enjoining ourselves with His joyful state. We are becoming one with God, and enjoying Him.
Why not take a moment right now, and raise you eyes, hands and heart to God? Thank Him for whatever comes to your mind; praise Him for Who He is and how He has revealed Himself to you; take time to enjoy Him and experience His joy. "The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Rejoicing in and Enjoying God with you,
Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org
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