He Rejoices Over Us with Joy

For the last week or so I had tried in my own strength to read my Bible. And I got absolutely nothing out of it! In fact, like I mentioned in my last posting, all I got was confused and condemned. It was an arduous journey that involved reading commentary after commentary on a certain topic. I discovered that the topic was actually listed under what one author described as 'The Hard Sayings of the Bible'.

I read guidelines on Hermeneutics, I read up on the historical background of the book in the Bible, I even read up on the Apostle Paul's life! What I found out from all that research is that there is a body of scholarly work out there that is based on absolute. . . uncertainty. That's because the approach these scholars have taken in their studies is study based on sense knowledge and rationalization. So much so that there is nothing definitive in their interpretations, just educated guesses. For example, to this day, it is debated whether 1st and 2nd Corinthians is actually a series of letters or just two letters. It is also debated what Paul meant when he referred to the 'destruction of the flesh' in 1 Cor 5:5, as well as what the phrase 'handed over to Satan' exactly means. I also came across many scholarly debates on whether the believer is actually still a sinner or is he justified. In the whole morass of confusion, someone actually postulated that we are still sinners now but we'll only be justified in the future on judgement day. Some also postulated when commenting on 1 Cor 5:5 that God in His infinite wisdom hands people over to Satan to try them! Saying that He handed Jesus, Job and Paul over to Satan! I even came across an article entitled 'Satan, God's Servant'! Some wondered how a person could be saved after his flesh got destroyed. . .you get the picture.

In hindsight I can see why so many in the Body of Christ are confused, sick and in dispair. That's because we have attempted to understand God with our intellect. But God is a spirit. In fact, if you are born again, the Holy Spirit lives in your spirit. He dosen't live in your mind -- although what he shows you in your spirit will eventually show up in your mind.

So there I was, dazed and confused (maybe that's how Led Zepplin got the title to their song). And to top it all off, the tenants renting my common room began to mess up my house over the weekend -- they actually started making dumplings in my house! I was really in dispair!

But like it always is in our lives, when we are completely helpless, our Helper the Holy Spirit comes on the scene!

This morning as I awoke, I heard that old song I used to sing years ago sung in my heart, "Oh Lord, your tenderness, melting all my bitterness, O Lord I recieve your love, Oh Lord I recieve your love".

Then I began to worship the Lord. "I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice for I made my choice to rejoice in the Lord. . .It dosen't depend on my circumctance, the strength of my arm or my voice, it dosen't depend on the way I feel, I made up my mind that I'm gonna rejoice!" "You have made me glad, you have made me glad, I will rejoice for you have made me glad".

Then I had an inner vision. I actually saw the Lord rejoicing over me as a bridegroom rejoiced over his bride!

But the great surprise only came later when I checked up in the Bible what I saw in my spirit. I googled 'He rejoices over us with joy' and got directed to Zephaniah 3:17:

NKJV
the Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet (you) with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

NASB
the Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

I realized that he had quieted me with His love. . .remember the song He sang in my heart -- Oh Lord your tenderness. . .I recieve Your love? Then I saw him rejoicing over me with joy! And what a promise! He not only rejoices over us, He is actually rejoicing in His power to deliver us from our troubles!

What a difference when we are hooked up to the God of the Word who lives in our hearts, as opposed to trying to understand the Word of God with our brains.

One brings Life. The other brings Death. Thank God for the Tree of Life. Thank God for Jesus in our hearts.