18/07/2011 - Strive to rejoice in the Lord!

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Rejoice the soul of Your servant for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Psalm 86:4

Those who overcome spiritual battles learn the importance of joy. If you remember the moment you received any blessings from the Heavens, you will see that before getting them you were full of holy joy. It was not by chance that the Psalmist wrote that verse. He discovered that truth and, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he recorded it in the Scriptures. That’s how the Lord wants you to seek Him for Him to answer your requests, inasmuch as those who seek Him by any other way will not obtain the divine favor.
There are two kinds of joy: the natural and the one that comes from God. The natural one does a tremendous good to our body. The individual who is always bitter, crestfallen, whiny, who keeps a sad countenance in his service to God and His leaders does not realize that he is giving the devil an opportunity to oppress and harm him. The Scriptures are very specific when stating that we can only serve the Lord with joy. Even the act of making an offering can only be rewarding when done with a joyful heart (II Corinthians 9:7).
The Most High, however, is the only One that can make us feel real joy; He is capable of flooding our souls with bliss. That satisfaction is peaceful and only those who are walking hand in hand with God can have it. It is pointless to strive to get things if you do not have the joy that the Lord can give to you. Life is beautiful to be lived; serving Christ is wonderful and being in communion with our Father is the reason of true happiness. There is nothing better than having those rivers of living water inside us to cheer us up – that is the biggest proof that the Almighty dwells in us.
Such joy, however, is not given to us in a haphazard fashion; it comes when the Lord Jesus visits us. Our heart rejoices with His presence. The moment that bliss floods our being is the time for us to say the prayer of faith and to take possession of what belongs to
us. Jesus said that when we love Him we will be loved by our Father and by Himself and He will manifest Himself to us (John 14:21).
Many people deceive themselves thinking that by calling themselves servants of God they have everything they need. Being His servants is certainly one of the best things that can happen to someone. But it also means that we must do the Most High’s will with all our heart. Those who do not respect their neighbor do not truly serve the Lord and the only reason why they do what God tells them is out of fear of being called bad workers – which is what they actually are. They may fast, pray, cry out to God but they will not be answered. We just cannot despise any of the divine commandments.
A joyful heart is a good sign. When our inner being is filled with contentment, it means the Lord is happy with what we have done. As a matter of fact, we will never be complete, but with joy in our hearts we can see that we are on the right path. Then, what we need to do is to pray for Him to show what needs to be transformed in us.
In Christ, with love,
R. R. Soares