Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
—Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
Do you find joy in knowing Jesus Christ? This verse says to “take delight in the Lord.” When you take something, you possess it. You own it. Joy is yours in Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls for you to take it—to own the joy Jesus has given you. Jesus didn’t give His life for you to strive in shame and live in fear. He wants you to possess what He has possessed for you. Righteousness in Him. Freedom in Him. Peace in Him. Rest in Him. To own any of these you understand the value Jesus has imparted to them—you grasp the change they bring—you believe by faith beyond any doubt that they are yours. And when you believe, you have joy.
“Always be full of joy in the Lord,” Paul wrote. “I say it again—rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, NLT). Paul reminds the Philippians that when they choose to rejoice in the joy Jesus has given them, they shall be full of joy in Him. Your attitude determines the value of His gift. If you choose to believe and praise Him for His righteousness—His freedom—His peace—His rest, then they are yours. When you take delight in them, they are real to you. When you believe in your mind—when you take on the new identity He has purchased for you, you own that identity. You possess it. You take delight in the joy of your salvation.
Jesus knows your heart’s desires. He placed His own within you the moment you were born again. He fulfilled them in the spiritual realm the moment you believed in Him. For you to understand what this means for you, the Holy Spirit changes your perception in the spirit of your mind. He renews your thoughts. He transforms your understanding from the natural realm to the spiritual. You no longer believe what the natural says is true. You believe what can’t be seen, heard, or felt. Evidence is the reality of what is not seen. In the spiritual, His truth exists. It becomes real in the natural when you believe in what you have received.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT)! You own joy from a position of strength. Joy is yours when you know the worth and value He has placed on your life. And when you know your value, you can “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” (Ephesians 6:10, NLT).
Allow the value of righteousness Jesus placed on your life to change your perception of who you are. Be transformed by that truth. Take joy in the change He has brought. You are His heart’s desire, and He is yours.
© 2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/03/his-joy-your-joy.html
No comments:
Post a Comment