The joy of the Lord is my strength

I thought I would write a new post today, and had a certain subject in mind.  As I sat down to type I thought 'Shall I write on that or shall I write on something else?', so I picked up one of the little booklets I have written over the years and opened it, thinking to share a personal testimony.  There in front of me was something I had written several years ago called  'The joy of the Lord is my strength.'  I have recently read a post on someone's blog and it mentioned the meaning of 'joy', and again on someone's blog this morning I noticed the word 'joy', so I thought that I would share that writing today.

What is 'joy'?

Joy to the natural mind is doing the

things that bring pleasure.  I get a

lot of pleasure out of nature, and taking
photographs.  I love animals and birds
and get tremendous pleasure from their presence in my daily life, and I get pleasure from painting, writing and many other things that I do.

  

Yes, we tend to use the

word 'joy' when we talk about the pleasures of this life, and there is nothing

wrong in that.

What of the meaning of 'joy' in God's eyes?

My dictionary tells me that 'joy' means 'excitement or stimulation of pleasurable feeling caused by the acquisition or expectation of good'.  As a christian I know that there is, in God's eyes, an established good and an established evil, and I must learn, through the Holy Spirit's teachings, to discern between the two.

Good and evil

Is it by choice or predestined, that we do good or evil? What is good, what is evil, where is the plumb line? Is my evil somebody else's good, is my good somebody else's evil? To whom somebody else's evil is good, then it is good. To whom somebody else's good is evil then it is evil. To establish a common good or a common evil there must be a plumb line. Without a plumb line there is no such thing as good or evil - only chaos.

Proverb ch.15 v.21 says that, 'Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walks uprightly',  so where do I find true joy that will not come from folly, and how do I tell the difference?  First of all, in order to experience fully the kind of joy that is mentioned in the Bible, the kind that Nehemiah spoke of as being a strength in Nehemiah ch.8 v.10,  I must have a knowledge of what walking uprightly is in God's eyes.  Just as Nehemiah had given understanding to the people of God concerning what was walking uprightly in God's eyes when the people were under the law, the Holy Spirit will give understanding of what is walking uprightly in God's eyes to we who are not under the law but who are under God's grace.  Otherwise we will be deceived, and have a substitute joy which will be derived from what is good in our own eyes, but maybe not in God's eyes.

In the book of Jeremiah ch.15 v16 Jeremiah says to God 'Thy words were found, and I ate them , and Thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Thy name O Lord God of hosts.'
We see by this account that it is God's words that became a joy, but only after Jeremiah 'ate' them, so God's words acted upon (eaten) become an 'excitement or stimulation of pleasurable feeling caused by the acquisition or expectation of 'good'.  So the christian can be sure that as he or she seeks God's word in their lives, what God speaks to each individual will become a joy and the delight of the heart if that word is acted upon.

I can truly say that when God speaks to or instructs me from His word personally, though I may not always understand it or my carnal mind will advise against it, if I believe it and, when required, act upon it, it brings about good - a good which surpasses all that I could imagine.   In John ch.14 v.15,  Jesus says to those who believe in Him 'If you love me keep my commands .   And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you.'

It is always my choice whether I do what He asks or not, but how can I claim to love Him and not do what He asks?

Not because.........

I love You Lord                                             
not because I must
for 'must' comes out of fear
and Your perfect love casts out fear

I serve You Lord
not for what I can get
for 'get' comes out of greed
and You make me able to be content
with little as well as much

I follow You Lord
not because there is no other path I can take
for You have allowed me to try every path
and I can see.....
that what appears to be a broad path
leads to a confined space
but what appears to be a narrow path
leads out into a broad place

Simon Peter answered Him 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life: and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.' John ch.6 vs.68,69

Ecclesiastes ch.2 v.26 says that God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to the man who pleases Him. So we need to find out what pleases God in order to experience this God given joy.
Wisdom, knowledge and joy will be given freely to us if our intentions are to seek to please God and walk in His ways, but as His ways and thoughts differ from ours,  Isaiah ch.55 v.8 says   'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord',   we cannot possibly please Him without revelation from the Holy Spirit first on how to do this.  This is why it has to be the Holy Spirit that teaches us, because 1 Corinthians ch.2 v.11 says that 'no man knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God'.  1John ch.2 reads 'but the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in Him.'

James ch.1 v.2 tells us to 'count it all joy' when we meet various trials.  James goes on to say that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness and to 'let steadfastness have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.'  So to the christian these trials are necessary and good.  Walking in the Spirit may not always appear to be a bed of roses but it's fragrance will be every bit as beautiful  and much longer lasting than walking according to the flesh, or carnal mind.  We are encouraged to continue to walk in the Spirit, running the race that is set before us, in Hebrews ch.12 v.2 where we are told to 'look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.'  If we do as we are encouraged here we will never have to endure what Jesus endured but, Glory to God, we will share in the joy that was set before Him.


The necessity of the ' Chief cashier's signature'

One day I found a part of a ten pound note on my bedroom carpet.  I could not think where it came from and was going to throw it in the bin.  My husband said 'I think you can claim a whole ten pound note if you take it to the bank.'  I said 'I don't think so', but phoned the bank and explained what had happened and what my husband had said.  The young man on the phone told me to pick up a form from the bank, fill it in and send it off to the bank of England.  The form asked for details of what had happened to the note.  I put down that I did not have a clue, told them what my husband had said, and sent it off with the part of the ten pound note.  For the price of a stamp it was worth enquiring.  I had a very nice letter back saying that as there was only fifteen percent of the note found, no chief cashier's signature and no promissory clause, they were unable to pay out, which I thought was fair enough.

I think probably the piece of the ten pound note may have come in on my shoe from outside, but the whole incident, including the words contained in the return letter, made me think of how there will be no joy set before those who are outside of the kingdom of God, who having only the part of the note, so to speak, hearing about God but not knowing Jesus.  For without the Chief cashier's signature, the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives, there is no promissory clause, no guarantee of eternal life.  The 'I promise to pay' is on the other part, the part with the Chief cashier's signature on.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying the things on this Earth that give pleasure, God has given us those things to enjoy, the natural things and things that can be bought with money.
True riches can only be found in Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that we are denied our heart's desire in the things that we love in this life also, it depends which we put first.   However, all the money in the world will never buy us the salvation and eternal life that God's Son has purchased for us.  God help those who don't know this if we don't share the joy of the Gospel of Jesus with them.


Treasure

What good is my gold if I don't have You
what use is my earthly treasure
all it can buy is a dream or two
a moment of worldly pleasure
What use is it if I have jewels and fine clothes
and I cut with a silver knife
if all of these things fall apart and decay
with my soul at the end of this life
No I'd rather have treasure in Heaven
gathered in barns of trust
than to have all the gold on this earth Lord
and my soul to return to the dust
Yes I'd rather have You Lord Jesus
You're worth far more than gold to me
for gold's only good for a lifetime
but You ....... for eternity

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.        Matthew ch.6 vs. 19-21