Week 36 — THURSDAY

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1). This was sound, for very, very often you cannot rejoice in anything save in the Lord. You cannot squeeze a drop of rejoicing out of your circumstances, your prospects, your past, but you can always rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk found that out:

Though the fig trees do not blossom
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail,
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet—I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
(Hab. 3:17-18)

There are two strains of thought running through the Old Testament in regard to pain and suffering—one is the answer of Job and the other of Habakkuk. The answer of the Book of Job is that you get back twice your losses—he rejoices on account of. The answer of Habakkuk is that you rejoice in spite of. The latter is closer to the New Testament. There you joy in the God of our salvation when you cannot joy in what happens to you.

Jesus said: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Note, “My joy may be in you … your joy may be full.” His joy then is not alien to our joy; they are affinities. Our joy in Him is supernaturally natural.

Many Christians are lacking in joy. Yet “how unbefitting it is to follow your own hearse around.” It was said in Luke 10 that the seventy returned with joy and said: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Jesus replied: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Don’t rejoice over success or be downcast by failure, but rejoice over your names being written in heaven—a permanent relationship, “In that same hour [Jesus] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit”—the highest joy.

O Jesus, my Lord, let Your joy be in me. Then my joy will be full. Then I can rejoice in You when there is nothing else to rejoice in. When I rejoice in You I rejoice in everything, for You are my Everything. Amen.

AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: The joy of the Lord is my strength—the joy of circumstances is my weakness.