Rejoice!

Jesus went beyond what He had to face for the joy that was set before Him. We must do the same.

It is God's desire and intention that we pass on through with joy the obstacles that are set before us. Whether those obstacles are sickness and disease or job losses or family and friends not saved or debt, we are designed to rejoice in God’s goodness to us and for us and remember His grace which is given as a gift to us. That gift is His ability to do what we can’t do on our own. We don’t have to camp out in trial city or tribulation country. We were designed to go on through that obstacle to victory. There are no defeats in our lives, only challenges to our faith. Those challenges are sent our way by the devil, our enemy, to stop us from enjoying our abundant life with God. The devil hates us because we have what he can never have, an intimate relationship with God, and God’s power and authority over all the earth.

How long we stay in something is determined by our rejoicing! The worse it looks, the more we are to rejoice. Get past caring what people think about you. Cultivate the joy of the Lord in the middle of all things, whether good or bad. Just as Jesus looked beyond what He had to face to the joy of the result on the other side, so we must do the same. We always win because God is on our side. We win when we submit to Him and consider it all joyful. That really “gets the devil’s goat” right where it hurts. He hates joyful winners! That’s what we are. We must see beyond what would look like apparent losses and consider ourselves winners always, regardless of what it looks like in this earthly, temporal world. That is exactly what Jesus did. He looked beyond the cross and its pain and shame to the resurrection and its power and victory.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say, Rejoice! Rejoicing stills the avenger, the enemy, and puts him on the run. He hates joy and praise and rejoicing. Shout for joy and give him a bad time; give him the worst day of his life every time you get up.