God My Joy

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Isaiah 61:10 (KJV) I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Last week I was sleeping peacefully when my phone started screaming at me. It wasn’t a ring, but a clarion call! I jumped up and checked the phone. The National Weather Service had just sent me a message:

Tornadoes are in your area. Take shelter now!

I knew it was raining and lightening, but it didn’t seem that bad. My heart was beating from the rude awakening. I stepped outside. Where should I take shelter?

I looked upward and realized the
best shelter I could take was my God

My God has promised to protect me where ever I go.

Isaiah 41:10-11 (KJV) Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

Praise Him! So I went back to sleep. The next morning I arose, and found not even a tree branch on the ground.

Who do you trust?
Where have you placed your faith?
Where is your joy?

I meet very few happy people in our world today. I think the reason for widespread unhappiness and sadly, misery, is because people have sought happiness in all the wrong places.

Do you know God?
Do you know the God Who created all things, including you?

I don’t mean to ask if you know Him like the History Channel knows Him, or to know Him like the encyclopedia knows Him. Are you acquainted with Him Who wrote the Bible for you? Do you know His Son, and are you indwelt by His Spirit?

Do you know that He loves you as you are, and will fill you with His joy?

The Only Permanent Place For Joy Is Our God

Where are you looking for joy and peace? I find joy in my grandchildren. But my grandchildren will grow up. Last time Sherry and I were in Valdosta we had a lot of joy with our grandchildren, playing with them, giving them gifts. But the last day we were there none of our family followed us out to the van to say goodbye. In fact, I could barely get them to acknowledge us as we left the house. What was the problem? The television was on, and their show was playing. This was more important than Pops and Gigi who had driven 8 hours to see them. Oh, we love our kids and grandkids, but any joy in them is but temporary.

Our joy is best found in God.

What about our spouses? Shall we find joy there? Absolutely! I love my wife, and she is a joy to me. If I had to do it all over again I would do exactly the same. She is the love of my life, and a joy to me. Yet one day I will lose my wife. One day either I will leave this life or she will leave this life. Jesus said that when we get to Heaven:

Matthew 22:30 (KJV) … they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

She will not be my wife in Heaven. I find joy in her now, but my joy cannot be vested in her for that is only temporary.

Our joy is best found in God.

Shall I find joy in a full bank account, or good health? Shall I find joy in my good looks or my abilities? Certainly we can find joy in these other things, but bank accounts fluctuate. Money comes and goes. The tax man cometh. Health gets weaker as we age.

Our joy is best found in God.

Isaiah 61:10 (KJV) I will greatly rejoice in the LORD …

Joy – overflowing joy – is not found in the temporary things of this world. It is found in our God. We need to resolve to find joy in our relationship with God. The Scripture says:

I WILL greatly rejoice.

Not “I am” rejoicing. We have times when life brings things our way that are not joyous. The Bible tells us that we are to resolve to keep our eyes on the Lord Who loves us. I WILL greatly rejoice. Not in what I have, but in Who has me.

I WILL greatly rejoice IN THE LORD.

The circumstances of this life should not rob me my joy. If my home were to burn to the ground – if an earthquake were to swallow this facility whole – will I despair? Where is my dwelling place? Is it a place of mortar and brick? Do I find safety like the three little pigs did, building homes of straw, wood, then brick? What keeps the wicked wolf away from grandma and grandpa? Is it a better lock on the door? Or is it God?

Deuteronomy 33:27 (KJV) The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

If you have God, then you have enough. You may not be a very rich person, but if you have the Lord with you then you have all that you need. You may not be very strong. Your health may be declining. And yet hasn’t God promised that there is a life beyond this one?

Psalms 73:26 (KJV) My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

You may have lost the love of your life. Isaiah had been through all of those things, and yet he said I WILL rejoice in the LORD. If you are God’s, if you have received Christ as the Messiah, then God is with you. Few men suffered as Jeremiah did in ministry and yet he wrote:

Lamentations 3:24-26 (KJV) The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

And King David often declared:

Psalms 119:57 (KJV) … Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.

We serve an awesome God Who has promised “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Have you grasped how tremendous this promise is to you?

I Will GREATLY Rejoice

Those with little joy have a little god.
Our God is an AWESOME God.

How much does God love you? He loves you enough to save you, if you will hear His voice.

Isaiah 61:10 (KJV) I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation …

God placed Adam and Eve in a perfect Garden, and in it no weeds, nor poisons, nor thistles. The weather was beautiful every day, so beautiful that they needed no clothing. God gave mankind a wonderful place to be, and wonderful love. Only one thing was forbidden – only the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And Adam disobeyed God.

Before you judge Adam harshly for disobeying God, consider how many times we have disobeyed God. And yet God in His great love would not leave Adam where he was. Having disobeyed God Adam tried to cover up his sin with fig leaves. But God said no. The Bible tells us that …

Genesis 3:7 (KJV) … the eyes of {Adam and Eve} were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

As humans we are always trying to sew
fig leaves together to make aprons.

We are trying to cover up our shortcoming and our sins. When God saw Adam and Eve in these flimsy coverings the Bible says:

Genesis 3:21 (KJV) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

You cannot makea “coat of skins” without killing an animal. This is a beautiful picture of what God has done for us in Christ. Adam sinned, and brought in into the world.

Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam sinned and tried to cover his sin with fig leaves. But God took away the fig leaves and replaced it with coats of skin. The innocent died to cover the sin of the guilty. We have all sinned before God.

Romans 5:18-19 (KJV) Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Romans 3:21-25 (KJV) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Jesus Christ is the propitiation or the covering for sin.
I will GREATLY rejoice in the LORD.
My soul shall be joyful in my God.
HE hath clothed ME with the garments of salvation.

My sin is not covered by my abilities. But He, like a great and generous Parent, took me to the storehouse and purchased what I could not purchase. He took me there, and unclothed me – taking my fig leaves. And He clothed me with Christ. Jesus Christ died for me. Jesus Christ died for you. He wraps us in His arms, and His blood provides a covering for our sins.

He has given us the best He has in Christ. He clothed me with the garments of salvation, but He also:

Hath COVERED ME with the robe of righteousness!

He has not only saved the inner man, but is working on the outer man. The overcoat or robe that God gives to His Children is righteousness, that we ACT right, that we BE right as God is right. What has the Scripture said?

Romans 1:16-17 (KJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

We are saved by faith in our God. But once saved God REVEALS righteousness in us. We become HIS WORKMANSHIP:

Ephesians 2:10 (KJV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Where inner salvation is, the outer robe of righteousness will always be! When the inner man is saved the outer man BEHAVES saved!

Our God clothes us completely. Everything that comes your way – not matter whether pleasant or unpleasant – is controlled by God. If you are His then He is at work in you to make a masterpiece.

Philippians 2:12-13 (KJV) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We do not have to work FOR our salvation, but if we are saved we will work OUT. That outer robe of righteousness is there. The Holy Spirit works in us and through us. If we are His then …

Romans 8:4 (KJV) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

We do not become lawless, but righteous. God has covered us with the robe of righteousness. Oh, God save us from the sort of godless Christianity that has gripped the Church today! Oh, God show us that the faith which does not change the heart is no faith but farce.

I Will Rejoice In The Lord For My Life Is Secure

If you are born again by faith in Christ – if you are saved by believing Him and Him alone to be your Lord and Savior – then He has clothed you with the garments of salvation, and covered you with the robes of righteousness. You are not wearing street clothes, but Heaven’s clothing. He has given you wedding apparel – you are Wed to Christ. You are bound to Him with an eternal vow for His glory and honor. God has promised to you:

Isaiah 61:3 (KJV) … to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Your very existence is assured because you are His and He is yours. You are bound to Christ by a blood oath. You belong to Him, and He will never abandon you.

Do you know Jesus? Have you been clothed upon? Has His Blood been applied to your life? Has His robe of righteousness – like Elijah’s mantle – been placed upon you? Many today in local Churches are like the Sadducees, of whom Jesus said:

Matthew 22:29 (KJV) … Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

You need Jesus. Do you have Him? Have you received Him? If you have then He has given you many great and precious promises, the greatest of these being eternal life. Do you know Him? Have you received Him? If so, you are wed to Him both now and into eternity.

May God bless your hearts with His Word!