Well of Joy – 1.26.09

Isaiah 12:2-3 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Christians, of all people, ought to be characterized by joy. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines joy as [1] the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good. The modern Merriam Webster's says joy is [1] the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. It's simply that happy feeling you get when you obtain or expect to obtain something you consider beneficial.

Now, here's what's great about the joy available to the children of God. It springs from the salvation we possess, and it's like a well unto which we can continually resort, for it never runs dry. You see, on our very worst days on this earth, our salvation from sin, death, hell, and the grave through the shed blood of God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ still secures our ETERNAL well-being and carries a blessed and happy prospect for the future.

No matter what predicament I may find myself in, no matter what all's going wrong in the world around me, I can bring my cup to the well of salvation and take a long, cool drink of the waters of joy.

In his first epistle Peter wrote to a group of believers who were having a time of it. It seemed the whole world was against them. All five chapters speak of and to their sufferings. But Peter introduces the letter with reference to the Christian's election (v. 2), lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (v. 3), everlasting and heavenly inheritance (v. 4), and assurance of eternal life through the power of God (v. 5). Then verse 6 says, WHEREIN ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.

Again, no matter what you face today and no matter what you face tomorrow, if you're saved and born again by the grace of God, there's a well you can visit and re-load on your joy (RE-JOICE).

But that's the catch. Being a Christian does not mean you'll automatically be joyful. In fact, don't you know a good many who aren't? Don't you know a good many Christians who can more aptly be described as depressed, discouraged, gloomy, paranoid?

What's the problem? Well, in order to get a drink from a well, you're going to have to go down to that well, dip your vessel, and bring it back up again. And in order to enJOY the joy of God's salvation, Christian, you're going to have to visit the well.

When's the last time you stopped to think about and thank God for all the great things God did for you when He saved your soul from sin? When's the last time you wondered with amazement on how and why God became a man and died on cross for your sin? When's the last time you considered the wonders of God's amazing grace and boundless love?

If all you think about and all you dwell on is the here and now, don't be surprised by the fact that it gets you down. There's got to be a time each and every day when we turn off the TV, get away from the computer, trash the newspaper, block out the world, open our Bibles, get on our knees, and take a trip to the well of salvation.