A great deal of turmoil surrounds us today as God is bringing forth His Kingdom. The tactic of satan and the demonic realm is to wear down the saints of the Highest One and to make us want to give up. Daniel paints a bleak picture of our day, but then says, “The court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:26–27).1
The Kingdom is going to be granted to the saints of the Most High. So I asked the Lord, “Okay. But how do we make it there before being worn out?” One of the keys He showed me is that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). We must recognize that there is a strength that comes in having the joy of the Lord, so we want to press into this. As we come into the days of the Kingdom, we should be experiencing the joyful shout with everlasting joy upon our heads.
And the ransomed of the LORD will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)
As I poured through a Bible concordance reading all the Scriptures about joy and how we receive joy, the Lord started really meeting my heart. The joy of the Lord will wipe away the things that are wearing us out. These destructive forces will be wiped away through what God is doing for us on our behalf. I want this to be a real experience for you. We should live in joy, knowing that we have salvation in God through Christ. The experience of salvation should minister great joy to us, for joy is part of the Holy Spirit filling our lives.
Start seeking to be refreshed and renewed in the Holy Spirit. Ask for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit in and through your life because in the Holy Spirit is fullness of joy. Like David, try repenting and look for the restoration of joy concerning the salvation we have in God (Psalm 51:12). That is a beautiful way to pursue it. Jeremiah found joy by digging in the Scriptures for life (Jeremiah 15:16). Being immersed in God’s Word should be the joy and delight of our hearts. It should minister life to us as we recognize that we are called by His name.
In beholding the Lord, in being with Him, we will have great joy ministered to us that will never be taken away. Seek to be in His presence and behold Him. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). We are not only in spiritual battle, but we are seeing the birthing of the Kingdom of God into this age. There will be anguish and pain like a woman giving birth, but there will also be great joy as the Kingdom manifests and the Lord returns to this earth (John 16:21–22). He will bring to us joy inexpressible and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8). We find joy in His presence, joy in His salvation, and joy in His Word. Lord, restore to us the great joy of Your salvation!
1 All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).