GOD’S HOUSE – HAVEN OF JOY

“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the OIL of JOY for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” – Isaiah 61:3a

GOD’S HOUSE is our HAVEN of JOY: “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting JOY on their heads. They shall obtain JOY and GLADNESS, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa.35:10). As you abide in Zion, sorrow and sighing flee from you; Joy and Gladness fill your life, in Jesus name! In God’s House, there is an unceasing flow of the OIL of JOY displayed through the Spirit of Praise: “…to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the OIL of JOY for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isa.61:2b-3).

The best that the world has to offer is transient happiness; hence the human hunger for happiness is an insatiable quest! Multitudes are breathlessly chasing after the illusion called happiness, seeking to attain the acme of pleasure through drugs, liquor, entertainment, and other false offers. “Happiness” comes from happenings, and the world is full of terrible and tragic happenings every moment. Happiness is fake and fickle because life’s circumstances are unpredictable. JOY however, is a fruit of the Spirit and is independent of our circumstances. The Fountain of Joy sourced from God’s Indwelling Presence is unplugged and activated in the fellowship of the saints. That’s why, unlike happiness, we need not chase after Joy.

We have no reason to seek for transient happiness outside of Christ. What the world has to offer is mainly WOE: “…WOE to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev.12:12b). In contrast, the Believer in Christ is assured of Joy: “Therefore REJOICE O heavens, and you who dwell in them!” Rejoicing is the portion of the Redeemed: “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, REJOICE in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phi.3:3). We are heavenly in citizenship and divine positioning: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil.3:20). We therefore need not be weighed down by the world’s woes, but amidst them the Lord, offers us His Joy: “These things I have spoken to you, that MY JOY may remain in you, and that YOUR JOY may be full” (Jh.15:11).

JOY UNSPEAKABLE is a reality in God: Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with JOY UNSPEAKABLE and full of glory (1Pet.1:8). The Saviour’s birth brought Good Tidings of Great Joy to the world: “Then the angel said to them (the shepherds), “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of GREAT JOY which will be to all people” (Lk.2:10). His Resurrection likewise evoked Great Joy: “So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and GREAT JOY, and ran to bring His disciples” (Matt.28:8). Jesus’ ministry through His first set of disciples was epitomised by Joy: “Then the seventy returned with JOY, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Lk.10:17). Moreover, in God’s House, we can experience the Joy of answered prayers: “…Ask, and you will receive, that your JOY may be full” (Jh.16:24).

God’s Kingdom is a Haven of JOY: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and JOY in the Holy Ghost” (Rom.14:17). The JOY of the LORD never ceases to flow in Zion. There, God turns sighing into singing, sadness into gladness, and mourning into dancing: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but JOY COMES in the morning…..You have turned for me my mourning into dancing: You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with GLADNESS” (Psa.30:5:11).