Focus: Reasons For Rejoicing! (Pt.3)

Text: 1Sam.2:1

"And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation."

Joy is a noun and rejoice is a verb. Whoever is in possession of joy must show it by rejoicing. The Holy Spirit is joy's fountain. Joy springs from the Spirit of God who dwells in us. 

In Gal.5:22, joy is given us as a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is not only a spiritual disposition, but also a mental attitude that is informed by the word of God and influenced by the Spirit of grace. Interestingly, the words 'joy' and 'grace' are 'chara' and 'charis' in the Greek, and you can readily see that both words stem from the same root. 

Grace and joy are integral parts, flowing from the same source - God Himself.

Luke tells us in Act.13:52 that "the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." In 1Thes.1:6, Paul tells us about "joy of the Holy Ghost." So you can see that in these two Scriptures joy is connected with and to the Holy Spirit.

Our main point is that it is not enough for us to have that something called joy in us; it is also of vital importance that we ignite that joy in us by making an effort at rejoicing. I have also maintained that some things make us rejoice. Let's see more of them.

*We rejoice for the right leadership

The Scripture says, "And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard" (1Kgs.1:45). Among the sons of David, Solomon was God's choice for the people of Israel. After he was anointed king over Israel, we read that Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah, and the people rejoiced intensely and immensely. Solomon built for God a temple before he could build for himself a house, and he built God's house in a shorter time than he did his own house. It is said that the people rejoice when the righteous is in authority. We rejoice for a divinely anointed and godly leadership.

*We rejoice in our God

Mary said, "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (Lk.1:47). God is our reason for rejoicing. He is capable of the impossible. He loves and cares for us. Paul says, "Now the God of hope fill you with ALL JOY and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Rom.15:13). Christ endured the cross for the joy that the Father set before Him. Our Father in heaven sets joy in front of us, so that we run the Christian race, knowing that the joy of the Lord awaits us. There's joy in our future.

*We rejoice with those who rejoice

Luke reports, "And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her" (Lk.1:58). Neighbors, family and friends rejoiced with Elizabeth for God's mercy on her. God rewrote her story and made her the mother of a mighty prophet, a prophet likened to Elijah. A woman called barren for many years became the mother of John the Baptist, and others came to rejoice with her. Let's rejoice with those who rejoice!

*We rejoice in the ways of God

Luke writes, "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Lk.10:21).

And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him (Lk.13:17). God is the sole revealer of Himself to whoever He wills. God bypasses the worldly wise and makes Himself known to the humble and the open-hearted. God decides how and to whom He reveals Himself.

*We rejoice in the Lord's day

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see MY DAY: and he saw it, and was glad" (Jh.8:56). God's day is a day of joy and rejoicing. The Lord said to the Jewish leaders, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Lk.22:53). Satan has his hour, a season that God lets him run wild or a time when God allows him to do his worst. The Lord says to Peter, "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not…" (Lk.22:31-32). Jesus Christ prayed for Peter's faith to survive the season of Satan. Christ Himself survived Satan's season of temptation, and Luke tells us that "when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season" (Lk.4:13). Matthew writes, "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him" (Mt.4:11). 

Even in the season God allows Satan to do his worst, he still never wins, and that is because God is always on the side of His own people.

The prophetic Scriptures have a lot to say about the Day of the Lord. The psalmist says, "This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps.118:23-24). In the day or season of the Lord, evil is judged and goodness is celebrated. In the Lord's day, angels are sent by God to minister to us, who are the heirs of salvation. Satan departed from Christ as a defeated and discomfited foe. 

Whether it is his season or the Lord's season, Satan loses at the end of the day.

After sifting Peter for a season, Peter's faith survived the demonic eclipse. God took out of Peter the carnal chaff and allowed the spiritual and moral wheat in him to remain.

Our reason for rejoicing abounds. We rejoice in our God. Our joy is rooted in Christ. Paul talks of "the joy of faith" (Phil.1:25). Let's rejoice in the Lord our God!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter