Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

1 Peter 1:3-4  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade..."


1 Peter 1:8-9  "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."


1 Peter 1:13  "...set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."


Where does joy come from?  True joy.  Not just the happy giddy feeling you get when something wonderful happens.  Joy that can overcome when darkness crowds in.  Joy that fills the heart when nothing else seems right in this life.  I want that joy.

Jesus.

And it's not that we should look to Him to feel better.  He is our only hope.  We are to cling to God.  For we are loved with an agape, sovereign, God-love that can never be replicated.  A love that we will never fully understand. 

Overwhelming feelings and questions of:  What can I do?  Will I ever be enough?  How do I make it?  They are answered only through Jesus Christ.  He is the only way to have hope and true joy.  In James 5 it says to pray if we are in trouble and to sing songs of praise if we are happy.  There is no patting ourselves on the back when things go well.  The Lord gives and he takes away.  There is nothing we possess that is not from Him, the Most High - The giver of Life.  

When life gets hard and it feels like there is nothing to possibly give thanks for, then look UP!  Refocus.  If we are eternally minded as we should be, then there is always a reason to give thanks!  (Colossians 3:2
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.")  The free gift of salvation through Jesus, and the gift of being able to serve Him and walk with Him is enough reason to have us jumping up and down from the roof tops shouting out, "I AM BLESSED!  My God, YOU are SOOOO Good!"

Nehemiah 8:10  "The joy of the Lord is your strength!"