It appears that for us to experience biblical joy, the fruit of God’s Spirit, we need godly inner qualities that we do not possess by nature. As with love—the love that springs from us by nature that is but a pale reflection of God’s love—so also is it with joy. Until we come to the point where by faith we are supremely confident of God’s presence in our life—of His providence toward us in the past, present and future—we will not experience the enduring fullness of satisfaction God wants us to have.
YET I WILL REJOICE
I love the verse in Habakkuk 3:17:
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls…”:
“Yet“
He says, “Yet I will REJOICE IN THE LORD, I will be JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOR” (v. 18).
He goes on to say:, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (v. 19).
You see, Habakkuk had no intention of staying defeated. He may look defeated, but he is not going to stay defeated. The difference between the person who is defeated and the person who is victorious is their attitude.
An attitude of gratitude will put you above your circumstances in life. This is the kind of attitude that this Habakkuk had. Even though nothing good was happening in his life–no fruit, no crops, no sheep, no cattle–yet he rejoiced.
In today’s language, Habakkuk might have said it this way:
“Though there is no food in the home, and there is no money in the bank, though the sickness gets worse, and the pain persists, though my children are on drugs, and my spouse does not appreciate me, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Regardless of the circumstances, you can rejoice!
The devil may be able to attack you (after all, he is the god of this age) but he has no power to steal your joy. Joy is a spiritual force inside your human spirit. Satan can touch your body, finances and family as the book of Job teaches, but he can’t touch your spirit. Your spirit is off limits to the devil. And since he can’t touch your spirit, he can’t rob you of your joy.
Supernatural joy can only come from a relationship with the supernatural God of the universe through Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus understands every trial that we go through and he brings hope, peace and a deep sense of joy when we truly know Him.
Nehemiah 8:10: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Rev. Julie Shannon