Habakkuk 3:17-19 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Paul says in Phil 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Max Lucado wrote an interesting story in The Eye of the Storm:
The bird owner has a small, beautiful bird that sings very well. One day he was cleaning the cage with a vacuum cleaner, and accidently sucked the bird into the cleaner. He quickly shut the vacuum, opened up the trash to find the little bird still alive. He retrieved the shocked and dazed birdie from the bag. She was covered now with dust and dirt.
His instant response was to rush her to the bathroom and gave her a quick rinse. Then seeing that the bird was shivering badly, he reached for the hair dryer and blasted her with warm air until she was dry. Finally, she was back in her cage.
A friend called a few days later and asked about the bird’s recovery. The pet owner reported, “Well, the bird doesn’t sing much any more. She mostly just sits and stares.”
Have you lost your joy because of some ordeals in life? Are you happy today?
• Many will say, “Well, that depends.” That depends, really, on many things – your mood, your situation, the people you’re with, the things that are happening.
• Happiness is elusive. You want it but it’s hard to keep it, because it depends on what happens TO you, and you cannot control that.
• You may be happy now, but in the next minute, if I said something that offends you, I can in an instant, rob you of that happy feeling completely.
• Happiness is entirely circumstantial. If the circumstances is the source of our joy and it is ever-changing, then I have no guarantee that this good feeling can stay.
That’s why the Bible hardly uses the word ‘happy or happiness’ (you can find this word only 26 times).
• God chooses to use the words ‘rejoice or joyful’ over 330 times, because that’s what He has given us – joy and not happiness.
• They each spring from a different source - one comes from the world around me, the other originates directly from the Spirit of the living God.
• It is the Fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift from God.
I think the prophet Habakkuk gave the best definition of JOY here.
• No matter what happens around him, Habakkuk has chosen “rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful in God my Saviour.” (v.18)
• Despite all odds, he said “the Lord is my salvation, so it will be well with my soul.”
• It’s not that we will never be sad or be in sorrow; we will. But deep down in our hearts there is this rested joy that all is well with my soul, because the Lord is there.
Joy is the evidence of the presence of God in our lives.
(1) ACKNOWLEDGE HIS PRESENCE
We can choose to be joyful by acknowledging God’s presence.
• Joy is not dependant on what is happening around him. Joy is the present of God in his life. The psalmist says, “In His presence there is fullness of joy.” (cf. Ps 16:11)
• If God is present, then joy can be present. If He dwells in my heart today, then my joy can be permanent.
Bernard Vaughan: “The happiness of heart cannot be attained without God, just like light and sunshine cannot be there without the sun. On every side, in every part of the world men and women are seeking happiness and cannot find it because they do not seek it from God.”
• There is no lasting joy apart from God, only temporary feelings of happiness.
We need to acknowledge God’s presence especially when we are sad.
• It is not that we do not ‘know’; it is because we are too overwhelmed by our sorrow that we cannot ‘see’. We lost that keen awareness of His presence.
It is like the two disciples on the road back to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). They were weighed down by the tragedy of the past week and the death of Jesus. They were downcast (24:17).
Jesus came up and walked along with them but they could not recognize Him. Jesus had to remind them of what the Scriptures say, and rekindle their hopes in what God is doing.
When they finally recognised Him, they said to each other: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (v.32) They were filled with excitement and rushed back to Jerusalem (‘the place of sorrow’).
When you are really down, say with Habakkuk (vv.18-19): “18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
• He says God makes his feet like the feet of a deer, able to tread on most difficult ground and leap towards higher ground. God enables me, he says.
Joy is anchored upon a relationship and not the circumstances; it is anchored in an unshakable, unbreakable relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
• If the Lord has taken permanent residence in our heart, then joy can be the permanent feature of our lives.
Let’s heed Paul’s call – “Rejoice in the Lord… always.” (Phil 4:4)
• We can choose to sing and praise Him, despite the difficulties. Do it by faith and receive His joy.
• YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT till the situation is better or the circumstances change.
• We declare in faith that God is present and in control. That’s the sense we get from David in Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” We don’t have to get out of the valley to find comfort and strength.
• We don’t have to wait for the fig tree to bud, for the grapes to grow, for the problem to be solved, for your lifetime partner to appear, for the loan to be paid off, for the next promotion, or for whatever: ___________________.
We can choose to trust God and rejoice in the Lord always, and allow the Spirit of God to fill our hearts with joy.
(2) ADOPT HIS PERSPECTIVE
Put things in perspective; in His perspective, that is.
• Joy is not a destination; it is a journey. We have joy because God is in control.
• He is not at the end of your problems, when everything is settled, the storm subsided, the problem solved, when we received God’s answer to our prayer – and only then we celebrate and rejoice… at the end of the road.
• The truth is God wants you to “rejoice in Him”. He alone is enough to make us joyful. Joy does not come at the very end; it comes even in the midst of all the ups and downs, the good and the bad.
It’s like having a date with your loved one or spouse in a nice restaurant.
• You’re glad to be in this cosy place, with beautiful music and great food.
• But what will give you this happy feeling is the person who is there with you. It makes all the difference.
• Maybe some of you like the food more than the person sitting beside you :)
There is no end to trouble in life. After you’ve overcome one, you can expect to face another one. There is always another mountain to climb.
• God wants us to enjoy the journey, and not just the destination. I’m sure we’ll be happy at the end, but there is joy even in “walking through the valley”.
In Acts 16, the authorities beat up Paul and Silas, and had them thrown into prison.
• Yet they were found “praying and singing hymns to God.” (The word ‘praying’ is not the word used for ‘making requests’ but ‘praise and worship’.)
• What’s there to rejoice about? God! His salvation, His grace, His love… Perspective is everything.
This reminds me of what Matthew Henry, a Bible scholar from the 1700’s wrote in his diary after some thieves robbed him and took his wallet: “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because, it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
We’ve heard a number of testimonies of Christians who are disadvantaged, handicapped - like Nick Vujicic (without limbs), Robert Reed (cerebral palsy), Fanny Crosby (accidentally blinded as a girl), Joni (paralysed in diving accident) – and we see in them a common trait – JOY. They are joyful and always smiling; and they gave their lives to serve the Lord full-time.
Why are they so happy? I believe the challenges they faced led them to appreciate God more deeply. They treasure the presence of God in their lives more than we do. They needed God. Not that we don’t, but normal people like us sometimes take God for granted. We feel that we can help ourselves.
That may also explains why they are more joyful than many people. They have an acute sense of God’s presence! They feel that touch of God’s love and grace in their lives, more than others. We, on the other hand, tend to rely more on our self, our efforts or our situations to bring us joy.
What did they see that we don’t? They see the hand of God in every situation.
• Let’s do that. We can rejoice because He is in charge.
• We do not understand all of His thoughts and ways, but we can trust Him.
CONCLUSION: Go MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
Remember this old song – Joy is the Flag.
• “Joy is the flag flown high, from the castle of my heart (3x); Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart, when the King is in residence there.
(So) let it fly in the sky, let the whole world know (3x); (So) let it fly in the sky, let the whole world know, that the King is in residence there.”
• If joy flows FROM you (not TO you, like happiness), then we can make someone else happy, right?
• We can bless someone with joy, with the joy of the Lord in our hearts. Why don’t we do that more? We should.
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If you’re here this morning and not a Christian yet, then you need to become one.
• You can never have the joy that the Bible talks about without knowing God. You can only know Him through Jesus Christ.
• Pray and acknowledge Christ as your Saviour and invite Him into your life.
If you’re a Christian and there isn’t much joy in your life, you need to re-connect with Jesus. Ask God for the faith to see Him in your life.
• The joy wanes and then disappears when we drift from Him, when we take out eyes off Him. Read the Word, spend time in prayer and come back to worship on Sundays.
• Joy is an evidence of the presence of God in your life.
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I repent of my sins. Come into my life, Jesus. I receive you as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. AMEN.
