Have you ever realised that when David faced the giant. Goliath, he wasn’t afraid or even daunted – he was looking forward to being joyful. How do I know that?
Well, Jesus faced a bigger giant, sin and the power of sin, and He wasn’t daunted or fearful. The Bible says He was looking forward to being joyful: “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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
The same reward awaits us when we go through life facing our own Goliaths and our Lord greets us with: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matt. 25:21).
And just what is the joy of the Lord? It started for us in Bethlehem when the angel announced to the shepherds living out in the fields that he brought “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8-14).
Our lives on earth have been designed for joy. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted” (Psa. 89:15-16).
Jesus said that our joy is made full when we ask things of the Father in His name (John 16:24). In my book, The Power You Have Available, I write about facing problems with a joyful heart praising God and how God blesses us when we so trust totally in Him.
Even more significantly, our lives for eternity will be filled with joy and laughter: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). The Bible talks about there being a huge number of us shouting joyfully, eating and drinking with Jesus in the Kingdom and being happy beyond measure (Luke 22:30; Rev. 19:6-9).
We are going to do a lot of laughing in eternity!
All Biblical citations are from the NKJV.
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