JOY IN MY HEART

Ps.4:7 – You have put joy in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine are abundant.

At the end of the day that is really all we are looking for, joy that fills and satisfies our heart. It is the elephant in the room that goes unnoticed and is never mentioned. We constantly pursue this joy in our employment, our relationships, and in our recreational activities. It is the spring of all of our actions yet we cannot quite identify it. I guess the reason for all of the confusion is the fact that the joy that our hearts long for is not natural, meaning not of this world. It comes from that unseen world that we are unfamiliar with until the day of our awakening. Jesus said we could never see it until we were born again. When we are truly born again we are introduced to a new world. C.S. Lewis described the new birth as being surprised by joy. Here is how Matthew Henry describes this heart joy.

“You have not only supported and refreshed me, but also filled me with unspeakable joy, and so this is what I will continue to pursue, what I will seek all the days of my life.” When God puts grace into the heart, he puts joy in the heart too, and the joy that gracious souls have in knowing God’s favor cannot be compared with the joy of harvest, even of a plentiful harvest, when there is much grain and new wine. This is gladness in the heart: inward, solid, and substantial joy. The merriment of worldly people passes by in a flash and is a mere shadow in comparison; even in laughter their heart is sorrowful . “You have given gladness in my heart” is the sense. True joy is God’s gift, not as the world giveth. The saints have no reason to be jealous of worldly people for their enjoyment, but should rather pity them, for they have had opportunity to learn to do better but have refused it.”

Going back to Lewis’s statement I guess the surprise was the source of joy; it was not a vacation, a cash settlement, or even a new relationship. This was joy that comes from Jesus Himself, the place we often avoided and never dreamed that could be what we were looking for. Maybe heart joy is what you have been looking for all your life. Where can you find it? Open the Bible, go to church; you may be surprised at what you discover.