Joy!—God’s Secret Weapon for Every BelieverSample

Unspeakable Joy

I am constantly challenged not to let the Scriptures be the truth that I only read, but an actual experience of the unspeakable joy and sweet communion we find in being enthroned with Him.

Admittedly, it is not easy to imagine that He has raised us in the spirit to this position, but the Word says it and so it is true. We must allow the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts to see from His perspective.

What pleasure He took in planning this! To snatch us out of the hands of the devil and the land of the dead was the costliest rescue operation possible—what a price He paid to have us in His presence! He not only rescued us but also co-seated us with Him in authority over the devil. He rules from the heights of His throne with joy. In Psalm 2, we see Him laughing at the futility of the enemy with supreme authority over all things.

There is nothing moderate about heaven; extreme love and joy are the norms. Just like the cross. What balance or moderation was there when our Savior hung naked on the cross? It took that kind of love in action to save us for the joy set ahead.

The enemy always wants to challenge us. In this life, circumstances may tempt us to feel rejected, depressed, and never good enough, but that is just a memory of our old identity in fallen Adam. We now belong to the last Adam as joyful overcomers.

The joy of the Lord keeps us elevated so that we can see even the biggest obstacles from His perspective, just as Joshua and Caleb viewed the giants as insignificant grasshoppers in comparison to God’s superior power.

Heaven is a wildly happy place, and God found a way to put heaven inside of our spirits here on earth. I always tell people that if you want to experience this joy, give it away. We have tested it, and it works, I promise you. There is so much of God’s pleasure in carrying His love and joy to the hurting and the poor, and to the places where people have been dehumanized. There is nothing like seeing people get set free and healed. We have taken this heavenly joy to people living in garbage-dump communities, leper colonies, refugee camps, and countries in conflict. Without fail, as we come with the holy hugs and affectionate kisses of our Father and Lord, people accept Jesus and are transformed.

You can try it, too, by taking God’s joy to any of the places around you where people are hurting and need the Lord. It could be where you go to work or where you go to school, or maybe your neighborhood. The Lord loves to pour out His heavenly presence. As the joy and presence of God come in like a flood, lives are transformed as every stronghold of the enemy is disarmed.

We adapted this plan from another resource. Learn more at http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/joy/401900.