Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Love and Trust Release Great Joy

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
(Psalm 5:11-12)
True joy is released into your life by loving and trusting God. To trust means to go to God for everything, knowing that it will be taken care of. Love His name means to love Him, because the divine name stands for the divine Person.

The Hebrew word for “rejoice” used here is samach and means to be lighthearted and glad. The word “shout for joy” is ranan and means to creak, to give out a ringing cry of exaltation. The word for “joyful” is alats and means to jump for joy and be triumphant. The joy David talks about in this passage is a joy that fills and overflows the heart, and becomes very expressive. It is like the joy he expressed when he danced before the Lord with great vigor as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem. “Then David danced before the LORD with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14). The word for “danced” literally means to whirl and twirl — his wife was mad because he “uncovered” himself (v. 20). Such was the greatness of his joy, he neither noticed nor cared.

Why such joy? Because when we trust in God, when we go to Him as our refuge, He defends us. When we love His name, He blesses us and surrounds us with His favor as with a shield. You see, the ones who love and trust Him are the ones who are considered righteous. It is not about us, but about Him. His favor is not something we earn but something we believe and receive. He surrounds us with it; it is His pleasure and desire for us lavished upon us.

God is looking for those who will trust in Him and love His name, to show them His protection and provision, and shower His favor upon them. When you make that connection, get ready for a download of joy in your life that cannot be contained.

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