Joy is a wonderful thing – placed in us through the Holy Spirit. We will experience suffering of some sort while on earth – that is a certainty. But for Believers, the periods of grief are brief and are replaced with joy because we have internal – and eternal – knowledge of God’s promises! God called ‘creation’ into being from nothing! God saw all that He had created and pronounced it “good”. You, my friend, are a part of God’s creation and He was pleased with how He made you! It is a joy to know that God loves us – even when we are not loveable – He loves us anyway. In fact, He loves us so much we have to wonder why?! It is a great joy to know that the Creator thought of each of us when He smiled down on His creation and pronounced it “good”. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
“Joy” is defined by mankind as a feeling of elation, delight or happiness caused by something exceptional! What is your definition of ‘joy’? Is it the feeling you get when you receive a gift? Is it the feeling you get when you get a promotion at work or a new car? Is it the feeling you get when you feel things are going your way? “Joy”, my friend, is much, much deeper than that. “Joy” is the inner peace that gets you through bad days. “Joy” is the inner knowledge of realizing that the God of the Universe – who created you out of His love – knows of your every pain and suffering and strengthens you during those times. “Joy” is knowing that no matter what happens on earth, when the final ‘day’ comes and God replaces His great work of creation with the manifestation of His Glory, He will bestow on us the ‘fullness of His joy’. That is something that we can only imagine!
God has promised that one day, He will send His son Jesus to gather up His children and bring them to heaven – a place where the fullness of joy will be made manifest! That ‘day’ has been anticipated – groaned for - by creation itself! The things of this world and all its unpleasantness are but brief occurrences and all of creation longs for the return of Jesus! When the ‘day of joy’ is fully revealed, all sin will be gone. There is not one instance of suffering on this earth that is not a result of sin. Sin came into being through Adam and Eve and every since, the earth has anticipated the event of Romans 8:22. What exactly is it that all of creation is groaning for? In a word: redemption! God will rescue and deliver us from our current world! It’s coming – all of creation knows it - and Believers will be there! Will you join us?
God made it possible for us to be redeemed right now! Redemption is available to us through God’s son, Jesus. Have you been redeemed? Have you reached a point in your life where you realize that you are not in control of life? Have you reached a point where you clearly see that “things” that bring you great joy on Monday have lost their appeal by Wednesday? Temporal ‘joy’ is just that; temporary. Only those things that are of eternal value to us will provide eternal joy. God’s redemption is the joy of the day that we - along with all creation - groans for.
So take heart, my friend! The day is coming when God will bring all Believers into His glory and time will no longer mark any event. We will be in the safety of His arms for eternity – not just for ‘all time to come’ – but for eternity! Just imagine – a place without evil, a place without illness, a place without persecution, a place where there are no more tears – that my friends, is Heaven. Such joy is reserved for Believers. Won’t you invite Jesus into your life right now so that His joy will infuse you, strengthen you, and heighten your anticipation of the Joy of the Day?
Papa Joe Mac's Commentary:
Joy is a wonderful thing – placed in us through the Holy Spirit. We will experience suffering of some sort while on earth – that is a certainty. But for Believers, the periods of grief are brief and are replaced with joy because we have internal – and eternal – knowledge of God’s promises! God called ‘creation’ into being from nothing! God saw all that He had created and pronounced it “good”. You, my friend, are a part of God’s creation and He was pleased with how He made you! It is a joy to know that God loves us – even when we are not loveable – He loves us anyway. In fact, He loves us so much we have to wonder why?! It is a great joy to know that the Creator thought of each of us when He smiled down on His creation and pronounced it “good”. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
“Joy” is defined by mankind as a feeling of elation, delight or happiness caused by something exceptional! What is your definition of ‘joy’? Is it the feeling you get when you receive a gift? Is it the feeling you get when you get a promotion at work or a new car? Is it the feeling you get when you feel things are going your way? “Joy”, my friend, is much, much deeper than that. “Joy” is the inner peace that gets you through bad days. “Joy” is the inner knowledge of realizing that the God of the Universe – who created you out of His love – knows of your every pain and suffering and strengthens you during those times. “Joy” is knowing that no matter what happens on earth, when the final ‘day’ comes and God replaces His great work of creation with the manifestation of His Glory, He will bestow on us the ‘fullness of His joy’. That is something that we can only imagine!
God has promised that one day, He will send His son Jesus to gather up His children and bring them to heaven – a place where the fullness of joy will be made manifest! That ‘day’ has been anticipated – groaned for - by creation itself! The things of this world and all its unpleasantness are but brief occurrences and all of creation longs for the return of Jesus! When the ‘day of joy’ is fully revealed, all sin will be gone. There is not one instance of suffering on this earth that is not a result of sin. Sin came into being through Adam and Eve and every since, the earth has anticipated the event of Romans 8:22. What exactly is it that all of creation is groaning for? In a word: redemption! God will rescue and deliver us from our current world! It’s coming – all of creation knows it - and Believers will be there! Will you join us?
God made it possible for us to be redeemed right now! Redemption is available to us through God’s son, Jesus. Have you been redeemed? Have you reached a point in your life where you realize that you are not in control of life? Have you reached a point where you clearly see that “things” that bring you great joy on Monday have lost their appeal by Wednesday? Temporal ‘joy’ is just that; temporary. Only those things that are of eternal value to us will provide eternal joy. God’s redemption is the joy of the day that we - along with all creation - groans for.
So take heart, my friend! The day is coming when God will bring all Believers into His glory and time will no longer mark any event. We will be in the safety of His arms for eternity – not just for ‘all time to come’ – but for eternity! Just imagine – a place without evil, a place without illness, a place without persecution, a place where there are no more tears – that my friends, is Heaven. Such joy is reserved for Believers. Won’t you invite Jesus into your life right now so that His joy will infuse you, strengthen you, and heighten your anticipation of the Joy of the Day?