God Speaking

“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here, he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.”

(Matthew 28: 5 – 6)

This beautiful revelation is such a joy for us to read, but imagine the two women who heard it, they had just witnessed the death of their beloved Jesus and the sorrow of the last three days must have been overwhelming, and yet  here they are being told he is alive, imagine the joy flooding through their whole beings, and still more joy the promise that they are just about to see him. They still must have wondered if this was true.

“So the women ran back from the tomb, afraid, but filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them, “Greetings” he said, they came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.” (Matthew 28: 8 – 9)

We have just celebrated this amazing revelation that Jesus had risen from the dead. We too can be filled with that same joy. If we check a concordance to see where joy is mentioned, we would have to scroll through pages. Joy is the beautiful gift of knowing and being with Our Heavenly Father. Psalmists sing for joy, shout for joy fill their hearts with joy. David realises that when he is in the presence of the Lord he is filled with gladness and joy.

“Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of his presence.” (Psalm 21: 6)

Nehemiah in the Old Testament learnt an amazing blessing of taking joy in the Lord. He found he could keep going even during trials. He was in the ruins of Jerusalem, rebuilding the broken walls, was being attacked by enemies trying to stop him, yet in the midst of all this turmoil he urged the children of Israel to gain strength from the joy of serving the Lord. 

“Do not grieve because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8: 10)

Paul has this beautiful blessing for the recipients of his letter to the Romans. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15: 13)

So how do we learn to rely on the gift of joy? 

When we go back to the countless words in Scripture describing joy, we can learn from the experiences of others. Being in the presence of the Lord brought great joy, caused people to praise him with loud shouts. So how do we seek being in his presence? We are welcomed into the presence of Our Heavenly Father, to spend time with him in prayer, praise, reading his word, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit when we seek him constantly, then joy and peace will flood our souls.