Joy

Take now... thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest... and offer him. (Genesis 22:2)

On my calendar on Sunday there were some thoughts on the subject of joy and one of the verses in the heading was the one I have quoted above. The name Isaac means laughter - and Abraham’s son was given that name because he brought unexpected laughter... and joy.... to an old man and woman who never expected they would have a son.
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But the story of Abraham and Isaac is a picture, we know, of God the Father and God the Son. And the writer was pointing out that the coming of Christ brought joy and laughter to the heart of God the Father and, yes, to God the Son.

...who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross...
(Hebrews 2:2)

There is joy in the Godhead because the way has been opened for man to return into the presence of  God. There is joy over every sinner who finds that way.

Surely, in you and me, there should be a joy that rises in our spirits again and again as we think of the fact that we have been redeemed. It is a joy that can and should thrill us time after time in spite of some of the hardships and difficulties that can cross our paths. There is a road that opens at Calvary and it is flooded with light and life for us because there Christ broke the power of darkness and death. Walk on that road... and let the light and life that is there surge through your soul.

The joy of the Lord is my strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Why not try, this week, to live in that joy. Don’t let any circumstance rob you of it..... and if we do that we will find strength for whatever faces us.


Jennifer