Linda Buishas
“There was some serious prime-time drama playing out right before my eyes. Casey and Rebecca had been separated by thousands of miles for more than two years, and now they were finally reunited. There were lots of hugs, happy tears, and squeals of delight. It was a picture-perfect reunion until … Casey passed out. Casey, you see, is a miniature schnauzer. Being in Rebecca’s presence once again was just too much for him. Overwhelmed, he fainted from pure joy.” (from Sheila Walsh’s “Joy in His Presence”)
The title of Casey’s little story gives us the essence of this message. How much more should our hearts leap for joy? When we are born again, Jesus is always with us, and we are in union with His Holy Spirit. That means we have the Fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith, inside of us. If we respond in faith, yield and trust in God, He will produce this fruit into our daily lives, no matter what the outward circumstance might be. This is reason enough to rejoice. We can express joy in the Lord because we always have joy in our spirits. If we seek to walk in the Spirit, we’ll have the choice of letting our emotions rule us or letting the Holy Spirit release a kind of joy into our hearts that can both confound and comfort us.
The Apostle Paul experienced unthinkable disasters and hardships. He endured countless beatings and imprisonments. He was stoned, shipwrecked three times, and was once adrift at sea. He experienced hunger, thirst, and cold, sleepless nights. Yet, he said he had contentment in all circumstances, and he told us to rejoice always as a part of our Christian walk. He taught us that if we surrender ourselves to Christ and trust in His Grace, we can have joy and peace in our spirits at all times. Even when physical health is threatened, world events concern us, or problems in our loved ones’ lives cause us distress, we can rely on Jesus to give us the strength to persevere and on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit to flow into our minds and hearts.
May we always trust in our Savior. May we be rooted and grounded in the Word of God and receive the revelation of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit, which lives within us, so that when problems come, we’ll stand firmly in His presence. The more firmly we stand in faith, the greater the outcome will be. Let us savor those quiet times in the presence of our Lord and keep our lives focused upon our Heavenly Father. Glorify Him in all we do, and He will make known to us the paths of life, and He will make us full of gladness in His presence. May we rejoice in all circumstances. Loving and trusting in Him will make our hearts leap for joy.