The Sunday News
Greetings beloved nation in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. One of the mysteries in the kingdom of God that can give a believer, a church or a family strength and courage in the midst of adversity, is called joy.
Many a times when the enemy attacks us he will be fighting our joy so that we lose strength. Joy is very important in this Christian walk because it gives us strength.
The enemy wants to see us grieving all the time so that he can take advantage over our lives. In the book of Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah tells the children of Israel, “Do not grieve because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Paul comes in the book of Philippians 4:4 where we hear Paul encouraging the believers saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always despite the situation.” Remember he is saying rejoice in the Lord and not rejoice in what you have or in things, but rejoice in the Lord.
So this joy comes from the spirit of God. We see when we read in the book of Galatians 5:22 it says, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” So joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. We are encouraged to rejoice in the Lord according to the writings of the Apostle Paul. Rejoicing is our internal occupation, there is no room for sadness or sorrowfulness.
One thing you should know is that sorrowfulness does not bring back what you have lost, whether you become sad or sorrowful. But joy is one of the mysteries that can attract your restoration and things that have been stolen. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Rejoice evermore.” This means there is no moment when rejoicing should be said of us it’s a thing of the past.
If you look at the book of Psalms you will hear David speaking about rejoicing in the salvation and the mercies of the Lord. In Habakkuk 3:17-19 the Bible tells us that, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in vines, the labour of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat , the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation, the Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me walk upon mine high places.”
Here the prophet is talking about the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in vines. He is talking about his life that many a times as believers you have done your best, your life may not look the way it should be, there is nothing that is tangible that you are holding in your hands, and your life looks unfruitful as a child of God.
You have tried everything and maybe it has failed. Your business is not bringing returns, there is barrenness in your life, your ministry is not growing the way it’s supposed to and your finances are stagnant. Now we hear the prophet Habakkuk in verse 18 saying despite all of this, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” There is a revelation or a mystery the prophet discovered about joy in his God.
How can I rejoice while things are going the opposite direction? Brothers and sisters joy is not just a joy but it is a weapon that can bring down a Jericho wall in our lives. Remember on the last day when the children of Israel were marching around the wall, the Bible tells us in the book of Joshua 6:20, that the people shouted with joy and the wall of Jericho fell down.
This shout was mixed with joy, it was a shout of joy. The attitude of joy must always be in us because it gives us strength to fight everyday battles.
We see that the people of old discovered the mystery of joy in the Lord and what it does in the life of a believer. Many a times when negative things happen in our lives, we frown, we are sad, we are angry with God than going to him in faith and saying “I may have lost these things but I have you the author and the finisher of my life.”
As Habakkuk said, despite all of these losses and disappointment on the fig tree, but yet I will rejoice in the Lord because he is God of my salvation. In other words, he recognised that God can redeem, God can still save him and God can still heal and restore. He understood that the Lord God is his strength because of the joy that he has for God.
Because he rejoices in God, one of the things that joy gave Habakkuk was that it made him walk upon the high places. That place is a place of promotion, a place of sustainability.
Remember sadness and sorrowfulness cannot add anything in your life, it will only produce pain, disease, and aging. But the mystery of joy will bring freshness and blessings despite what you have lost.
Once again I would like to invite you to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour, by believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, and you shall be saved.
Feedback: [email protected]/ WhatsApp: 0772494647
