Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
(Phil. 4:4)
Joy…it’s a traditional part of the Christmas season. In December, people who hardly crack a smile all year send out cards with messages about joy. Carolers chirp out, “Joy to the World!” as grumpy shoppers push their way through crowded malls. Glittering banners, decked with sprigs of holly and silver bells, wave the word “JOY” over city streets jammed with irritated drivers who just want to get home.
Tradition aside, the fact is, with the busy schedules, high expectations and financial pressures people face this time of year, it’s easy to let joy slip through your fingers. But don’t do it. Instead, get a revelation of joy that will inspire you to hang on to it not only at Christmastime, but all year ’round.
You see, God is full of joy. Jesus is a man of joy. So if we’re going to follow after Him, we’ll have to be full of joy too.
Joy used to be my weakest area, spiritually. I spent so much time majoring on faith that I didn’t pay much attention to it. But the Lord eventually taught me that you can’t live by faith without joy.
That’s because it takes strength to live by faith. We’re surrounded by a world that is flowing toward death. The natural pull of it is always negative. When you leave things alone and don’t work against that negative flow, they always get worse—not better. If you leave a garden unattended, it dies for lack of water or gets taken over by weeds. If you leave a house unattended, the paint peels off and the boards begin to rot.
To move toward life, you must constantly swim upstream. If you ever get too weak spiritually to do that, you’ll find yourself being swept back toward sickness, lack or some other form of defeat. So you can never afford to run out of strength.
No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote to rejoice in the Lord always! To rejoice means to re-joy, to back the truck up and get another load!
Paul understood the link between joy and strength. That’s why he prayed for the Colossians to be “Strengthened with all might, according to his [God’s] glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness,” (Col. 1:11). The heart of that sentence says we are strengthened with all might and joyfulness!
Paul reaffirmed that what was true in Nehemiah’s day under the Old Covenant is true today under the New Covenant…the joy of the Lord is our strength! So back your truck up…and get another load!
Speak the Word: I rejoice in the Lord always! (Phil. 4:4)
For Further Study: Acts 20:16-24
Daily Scripture Reading: Obadiah; Jonah 1; Ps. 131
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God's WORD to their lives.
They have seven ministry offices around the world: United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Ukraine and Latin America. Their God-given directive is to preach and teach the uncompromised WORD of God on every available voice, which is being accomplished through a variety of channels, including our Believer's Voice of Victory TV and radio broadcasts, podcast and magazine; Believers' Conventions, Victory Campaigns and Living Victory meetings; published books, website, and social media channels, to name a few.
With the expansion of technology, they have more work to do now than ever. They are determined to let the world know Jesus is LORD, and they are not slowing down anytime soon!