It has been said that “Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts announcing that the King is in residence today.” There is no doubt that the underpinning of joy in the believers life is the absolute confidence in the Lord’s personal, unchanging love for us. It’s a love that is not based on anything good in us because “When we were still sinners Christ died for us”. Romans 5:6. Secondly, NOTHING can SEPARATE us from His love!! NOTHING! not circumstances, not the future, not the present, NOTHING in all,creation! Romans 8:32-36
One Christian writer said, “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God”. Joy comes from inside the heart and is a constant because it’s not based on outward circumstances, but an inward peace based upon the constancy of God’s love. “A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms”.
In addition to knowing that I am loved by God with an unchangeable love, and a love that is unconditional, it gives me incredible comfort to know that He is not only Love but all-wise and all-powerful! All of these attributes act in concert with one another and can never contradict one another! Listen to the implications of that! God will never do anything unkind, unwise or unloving and because He is all-powerful, there is nothing that He cannot do!
Friends, God is for us! Romans 8:31 Love never fails! If you are ever tempted to doubt God’s love, consider the cross. I love this verse; “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all-how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things”. Romans 8:31 Think about it! If God would give you the greatest gift in the universe when you were His enemy why wouldn’t He give you lesser blessings when you are His friend? C’mon now!
I don’t know about you, but that gives me the “joy, joy, joy,joy down in my heart”!
Terry