Joy

In the Lord there is joy and peace and rest from the carrying of the burdens of guilt and shame.

These are complicated things, guilt and shame. Not easily laid down. These burdens weigh us down and make walking impossible, make progress seem like a foolish daydream. All of us at some point must sympathize with the man who said, "“Lord, I believe, but do something about my unbelief."” Lord, we do trust your promises, and yet there remains in us, so often, an inability to walk in that trust, to take real steps of faith unhindered by fear. To be joyful in hope. To be confident in you for all things.

I believe that the enemy brings all the firepower in his arsenal to bear against our joy. Have you noticed that depression is more of a curse, more of a scourge on the lives even of the saints, than ever before? Our joy and confidence should be our testimony, but he knows that if he can rob us of these things, he thereby undermines our effectiveness as bringers of good news for the world.

You cannot live this joy by reading books about it. You don'’t get it from others. You can'’t manufacture it, and neither is it God’'s gift to us once we have performed the requisite religious services or good deeds. We get it only by going to the source. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. "Christ in you is the hope [the sure and certain expectation] of glory." The presence of God is a place of joy-filled praise. Such is our destiny, stored up for us in eternity, but also available to us now as a foretaste of the splendor to come. Fear drops away, and confident assurance fills us. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Shout for joy, all you saints. For the battle over your very destiny has already been won by the Lord. He reigns.