DEVO: A Joyful Faith
There was a certain man, habitually unhappy, who told me what a joyful faith he had. I didn’t believe him. His faith was inferior or else he was lying. A joyful faith brings rejoicing.
A joyful faith is a valuable antidote to evil. A despondent and melancholy person is more likely to succumb to temptation. What better shield can a person have against Satan’s arrows than a radiant faith? Paul could rejoice in chains. He exhorted his fellow Christians, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). We have no way of knowing how many saints in Caesar’s household became servants of the Lord as a result of being chained to Paul and seeing his radiant faith.
A joyful faith is a powerful advertisement for the Christian faith. There are people who do not understand us, who disagree with us on the meaning of biblical teachings, but these same people will respond to a warm-hearted, joyful faith. Paul and Silas sang praises to God when they were in prison at Philippi. Joyful faith is contagious.
Such a joyful faith comes as a result of being in Christ. Paul didn’t say, Rejoice. He said, Rejoice in the Lord. In him, we have all spiritual blessings and the hope of eternal life. When we lose our lives in his life the fountains of joy will flow freely.
And, as surely as night follows day, service follows surrender, issuing in a work of faith and labor of love in the Lord. What a privilege it is to “Serve the Lord with gladness and to come before his presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2).
