Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.
Psalm 43:4
Just as we take our empty self to God to be filled with His love, we also go to Him when we need to be filled with His true joy. You can receive it from these three sources:
- God Himself. God—the only source of true joy—wants to give you His joy. You need only to turn to Him to receive it. “Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God” (Psalm 43:4).
- God’s salvation. Isaiah wrote of his gladness: “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).
- God’s promise of eternal life. You can look forward to your future in Christ. Even in difficult times you can celebrate your future in Christ—a future that holds not death, but everlasting life with God in heaven! Psalm 16:11 describes what that future will be like in the presence of God: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Clearly, the joy of the Lord is marvelously available to you 24 hours a day, every day of your life—and for all of eternity … which is yet another source!
In Finding God’s Path Through Your Trials, Elizabeth George reminds us that God won’t give you trials you cannot bear without including a way of escape. By turning to Jesus, you will find hope, joy, and meaning in your journey, no matter how bumpy it seems.