“And
the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion,
with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and
sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Isaiah 35:10
When
was the last time you were glad? Merriam-Webster defines Glad as:
“having
a cheerful or happy disposition by nature, experiencing pleasure, joy, or
delight: made happy, made pleased, satisfied, or grateful, marked by, expressive
of, or caused by happiness and joy, causing, happiness and joy: pleasant, full
of brightness and cheerfulness.”
Joel
2:21 encourages us with the following words:
“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has
done great things!” Be glad. Be glad!!
Do we do glad these days? I think we do happy, sad, frustrated,
depressed, stressed, and other assorted emotions…but do we do glad? Most of the emotions we experience are
related to things going on around us. We
are happy that we got paid before we had to pay bills. We are sad because a beloved pet has
died. We are disappointed because we
didn’t get a job we really need. We are
afraid because we’ve been served to appear in court over a forgotten traffic
citation.
I’d
like to suggest that over and above all of these things we have reason to be
glad. I will go further to suggest that
it is the nature of the redeemed child of God to be glad…NO MATTER WHAT their
circumstance. Does this make us immune
to the more negative emotions? Not at
all. Life still happens! But that in spite of all of life, we are to
be glad. Why? Very simply, because we
belong to the most High God. We are the
redeemed, bought by the blood of Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Our portion is not this world, but we are
joint heirs with Christ to the kingdom of God.
Romans
8:38-39 tells us: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor
powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Recently,
I was going through a difficult circumstance and a fellow staff member asked me
if I was okay. I was fine, I responded, but the reflection on my circumstances
gave me pause to consider why I had allowed anything to steal my joy. I told my coworker that I think I had
forgotten to be glad! I need to remember
my reality. Not the events that happen
around me, but the reality of my eternity in Christ Jesus. The reality of the love of God for me. The reality of his plan for my life, and my
family. These are not circumstances that
change. This is my reality…and I should
be glad. Because of these things, I need
to remember to be glad. I need to choose
to be glad.
Prayer
Lord
Jesus, I can be so fickle. I can allow
the winds of life and circumstance to rule my moods, dictate my attitudes, and
affect my actions and reactions. Renew
and transform my mind, Lord. Remind me
to be glad! Fill me again with the Joy
of my salvation and renew a right spirit within me. Make me glad I pray.
In your name, Amen.
In your name, Amen.
