Did you know that God commands us to be glad and full of joy? King David said that the joy of the Lord was his strength. I think he is speaking about a joy that comes from deep within the soul, not an emotional or surface joy that is dependent on our circumstances. True joy comes from knowing God, and knowing His word. King David also wrote in Psalm 19:8a “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.” NIV
Realizing the following will cause you to grow in the joy of the Lord, and it will then become the strength you need to live life.
1) God created us for his glory.
"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth,... whom I created for my glory" (Isaiah 43:6-7)
God made us to magnify his greatness. He created us to put his goodness, truth and all that He is on display. The greatest display of God's glory comes from joy and delight in all He is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the joy. God created us so that He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
2) Every Christian should live for God's glory.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
If God made us for his glory, it is clear that we should live for his glory. Our purpose and destiny comes from his design. Our first obligation is to show God's value by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4) It is the root of all true obedience, especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).
3 comments:
Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. (2 Peter 3:18)
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God bless.
I stand in agreement with you on this one, for sure. There is no doubt even Christians will have sorrows, have blah days, etc. But we can have an undercurrent of peace and joy with Christ.
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The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
David expresses his love for the laws of God many times in Psalms. Our Adam nature dislikes the laws of man and God. David realized the goodness of God’s laws and how they are for our benefit. Can you imagine what this world would be like if we followed even the laws of man. There would be no need for locks on your door, no need for police. There would be no crime. God’s laws are so much more than that.
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