joy in God is never out of season

[a mere housewife]

I was thinking today what a relief it is, when so much in life is uncertain -- when we are bound to experience difficult and often mercifully changeable responses -- to know that joy in our Saviour is and always will be appropriate.

. . . those who, when they were full, enjoyed God in all, when they are emptied and impoverished can enjoy all in God, and can sit down upon a melancholy heap of the ruins of all their creature comforts and even then can sing to the praise and glory of God, as the God of their salvation. This is the principal ground of our joy in God, that he is the God of our salvation, our eternal salvation, the salvation of the soul; and, if he be so, we may rejoice in him as such in our greatest distresses, since by them our salvation cannot be hindered, but may be furthered. Note, Joy in God is never out of season, nay, it is in a special manner seasonable when we meet with losses and crosses in the world, that it may then appear that our hearts are not set upon these things, nor our happiness bound up in them.

-from Matthew Henry's commentary on Habakkuk 3

 

[Leslie]

This reminds me of a local man whom I hired to accompany me on rounds at my clinic. He carried my instruments. He had leprosy, was missing some fingers and toes; the rats had eaten them because he had no feeling in them. He was very, very poor. Many in his family had died. His grass house leaked in the rainy season. But he was always joyful, always praising God. I had him pray at the beginning of each clinic, and it seemed as if the heavens opened to receive his heartfelt worship.

 

[GloriousBoaz]

I was contemplating Joy in how it is what we need to overcome indwelling sin instead of meditating on law, since Romans talks about how the law does the "don't touch the wet paint" syndrome which immediately makes you want to touch the wet paint. But joy takes us into a different frame of mind far from the traps of the flesh. I then started thinking of joy vs. happiness and came up with three quick scenarios as analogies to illustrate the difference, the first being:

1. a day where you just had a encounter with someone that was completely orchestrated by God and you are just so amped up because it was such an awesome praiseworthy event, now this is happiness with a dash of joy, (because remember joy stays when happiness is gone)

2. You worked hard all day and just collapsed in bed. Great day; peace from working hard and accomplishing much. Closer to joy but still a lot of contentment/happiness there.

3. Your child dies and you look up like Job and say "The Lord giveth and He taketh away...though He slay me I will still worship Him." And you rest in that place of your inner knowledge of your own justification, you rest in that place of feeling the warm sun of God's reconciliation beating upon your face in the knowledge of having peace with God, when once wrath was all you felt; you rest in that place where you know you are a new creature, regenerate, made new, not your God hating former self, but your present God loving, God esteeming self; you rest in Christ. Now that is pure unadulterated joy, unmingled. Available to all God's children who cling to Him.