Persevere For The Greater Joy

Ps 118:24-This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.


John 14:27--Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:24--Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

     This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. But, how can we say that when it looks like things are getting worse and not better? Or, how can we maintain our faith when it seems like things are at a standstill and not progressing? All of us reach moments like this. And, sometimes these points turn from moments to years.

     When I reach these times, I begin to ask the question ‘What is God doing?’ (Some of you might remember that I have a blog on this subject.) One of the first things we need to understand is that God never sleeps. Also, God hears and answers our prayers. You can have a valid argument by wondering where is the answer when you need it. I’ve been down that road several times myself.

      One of the things that we must consider is that God is faithful.  If He answers prayer for one person, He has to answer prayer for all. Let’s take the promise He gave to Abraham and Sarah. It was 25 years before Isaac was born. They went through a lot. Through that lot, their faith was tested. They stumbled but finally LEARNED how to walk by faith. I believe we might have touched on a key.

     The prophet Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel when he was just a teen. As you remember the story, it was several years before God fulfilled that promise. David had to go through a rigorous training process. Mind you, it wasn’t a PHYSICAL training program. It was a training program that God designed to strengthen his inner man. There were hardships to go through as well as hatred and mistrust he had to endure. He had to learn to deal with poverty and with poverty-stricken people. If you remember, he was able to take a rag-tag band of miscreants and shape them into a lean, mean fighting machine.

     God allowed His heroes to go through some pretty tough character building processes before He manifested His answer. Why did He wait so long? Did He just enjoy seeing them suffer? We’re back at those questions again, aren’t we. The answer is found in the scripture (John 16:24.)

Hebrews tells us that hope is the anchor of our soul (Heb 6:19). In previous blogs we’ve quoted Heb 12:2--Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.. God had a greater joy for them in mind. There were some things that God wanted to accomplish that would enhance the joy of His provision.

     How much joy and/or glory did Abraham and Sarah enjoy when a child was born to them at an impossible age?  Don’t you think that a whole lot of people’s ears perked up when the word got around that a 91 year old lady was pregnant with her first child? How much attention did that grab? I am sure that at Isaac’s birth, Abraham had a congregation set and ready to hear about how great our God is. As people who knew them saw the miracle before their very eyes, they would be hard pressed to say anything else but “It had to be God.”

     As handsome and manly as David was, the people thought more of him as he overcame the obstacles he faced. They watched as he rose to glory and then faded from view as he lost favor with King Saul. Many of the people of that day were on King Saul’s side. They watched David as he waited on God’s answer. When God raised him to the throne, even a lot of his enemies had to admit that it had to be God that did it.

     As I have mentioned in a previous blog, God was busy creating some ‘greater joy’ during the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew. Yes, I know the Greeks were doing their thing and the Romans were doing their thing. HOWEVER, God was orchestrating the whole 400 years to bring ‘greater joy’ to His apostles. In God’s scheme of things, He had to get a way prepared for His men and women to carry out His instructions. He knew that after the day of Pentecost, highways and by-ways would be filled with people that were ready to spread the ‘greater joy.’

     Let’s digress for a few moments. Those 400 years were filled with hardships. The days of persecution after the day of Pentecost were not pleasant either. Understand, that hardships produce character and God was wanting to pour out His joy in an abundant measure.

     Let’s rejoice in this day. God is working on something good for us. Dip into His peace and pull out a hunk of joy to chew on instead of chocolate covered yuck.