Focus: Joyful God!

Text: Jer.32:41

"I will rejoice over them to do them good."

See this Scripture as a prophetic declaration to you. God is talking to His prophet about you, and He says, "I will rejoice over them to do them good." Let me put it directly to you as God's mouthpiece: 'I will rejoice over you to do you good.' God didn't say, 'I will frown upon you as I hurt you terribly,' or, 'I am feeling reluctant to bless you,' or still, 'I will not be happy to bless you.' No, not all! God wants you blessed. He loves to see you doing well. He sees it as a thing of joy to do you good. 

Whenever God thinks of doing you good His heart is filled with gladness. His joy runs wild when He gets ready to bless you. It is, for God, an occasion for rejoicing whenever He decides to do you good. 

God tells Aaron to bless Israel in this manner: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace" (Num.6:24-26). From His throne God blesses you. 

From the top of Mt Olives the Lord Jesus Christ blessed His disciples as He was about to ascend to heaven after His resurrection. Luke writes, "And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" (Lk.24:50,51). It gives God utmost joy to do you good.

Moses tells Israel how well "the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you…" (Dt.28:63). In the next two chapters Moses declares, "And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: FOR THE LORD WILL AGAIN REJOICE OVER THEE FOR GOOD, as he rejoiced over thy fathers" (Dt.30:9). Isaiah declares that "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee" (Isa.62:5). God says to His people, "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people…" (Isa.65:19). He goes from rejoicing OVER you to rejoicing IN you. 

God has no intention to hurt you or do you evil. He is troubled when you are troubled. He feels your pain. He is concerned with all that concerns you. Prophet Zephaniah declares, "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, HE WILL REJOICE OVER THEE WITH JOY; he will rest in his love, HE WILL JOY OVER THEE WITH SINGING" (Zeph.3:17). God sings with joy because of you. Wisdom says that her delights were with the sons of men (Prov.8:31). Our wise God delights in us - in his people everywhere.

God was happy creating you, and also happy redeeming you. We read in Luke, "And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (Lk.15:5). The Lord rejoices in finding the lost. Isaiah declares that "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied…" (Isa.53:11). His death on the cross guaranteed our salvation and eternal bliss, and for that, He is satisfied. 

On the basis of His vicarious suffering and shed blood, Christ will rejoice over you to do you good. Paul says, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom.8:32). By virtue of Christ has done for you, God will go any length in blessing and doing you good. The joy of the Lord is more than joy of which God is the source; it is joy as God Himself expresses or radiates it. It is joy as it flows from its source. It is the God of joy being excited, ecstatic and joyful - even rejoicing over you to do you good.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter