- 46. Joy in the Lord
Isaiah 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord will increase the joy of the meek, and the poor will rejoice in the Lord. Jesus announced the Kingdom of God with the Good News like this in Matthew 5: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” These “blesseds” are promised for the meek and the poor. The meek and the poor include us, regular people who are spiritually humble, lowly, and poor. With Jesus’ proclamation this Isaianic promise comes true. This promise is for me: I am among the meek and poor, if I admit I am a poor, miserable sinner. For me there is joy and rejoicing. When I hear the Gospel of forgiveness, life, and salvation I am filled with joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I can rejoice in the Lord always.
Even though we feel the emotion of joy commonly enough, the Joy of the Lord is not so easy to explain. Spiritual joy produces emotional joy, but it is much deeper and permanent than the material joy of Christmas morning or the joy of falling in love. The joy of forgiveness, deliverance, salvation, and new life is abiding and beyond the temporary joy of new things and pleasant surprises and the emotions of loving and being loved.
The joy of salvation is so great that even God Himself and the angels of heaven rejoice when one sinner repents. Every time we repent and believe the Gospel we experience joy and give joy to the Lord. That kind of joy in the Lord may be ours any time and in any circumstance, whether we feel it or not. We have that joy even when we feel depressed and sad for one reason or no reason at all. God lifts our spirits, but we also need to realize that God is pleased with us and His heart bursts with joy when we joyfully receive His gifts of salvation. We bring more joy to the Lord when we repent and believe than when we do a good work or a kind service for someone.
When we believe we have joy; when we believe God’s love and grace again and again the Lord promises to increase our Joy in the Lord.