Fearless Joy

Greetings all. Well, unless you’ve been asleep in rehearsals and Sunday services or else you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, by now you must have detected a shift in the worship atmosphere around SBC. And of course, you must know that the apparent theme for this season is – JOY. For being one of the shortest words in the English language, it is one which really packs a punch. It is a heart effect, a life seasoning, which gives flavor to everything we do, in service, in gifts and talents, in communion and of course in worship. I love how Pastor Darryl defines joy – the absence of fear and the acknowledgment of hope. This absence of fear as being half the equation of joy is an intriguing concept for me right now. Having just emerged from a very fearsome time in life, I had to learn a lot about shedding fear in that fearsome place. It is definitely a choice. We have to choose to focus on the Lord and what He has done, is doing and will do rather than on the terrible thing of the moment. David knew a thing or two about this concept and had one or two fearsome episodes in life to work through as well. Based on the “joy is the absence of fear” concept, Psalm 27 is just bursting with joy. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? . . . Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war may rise up against me, in this I will be confident” [Ps. 27:1, 3 NKJV] No fear. Every hope. Which leads to … “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of JOY in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.” [Ps. 27:6] Keep reading. The Psalm is chocked full of where the absence of fear and the acknowledge of hope in Christ can lead. It leads us to celebration. [Okay, are you tracking with me? Think Christmas.]

Now, all that being said, we need to consider our personal and corporate responsibilities in deepening and enlarging this atmosphere of worship. We have an enormous opportunity of celebration hovering on our doorstep with the approaching Christmas season. Tammy has inspired and challenged us to prepare for what could be one of our most significant opportunities of sharing the Christ we know and the world does not – this Savior who loves to celebrate because He dispels fear, fulfills hope and loves us beyond reason. I cannot tell you how many people I have encountered in the various offices I have been in in the last week who are desperate to find a reason to celebrate. And everyone of them are extremely eager to attend the upcoming Christmas program. We need to be ready to show them the sacrifices of joy.

Well, enough of my soapbox. I’ll get back to posting my regular devotionals tomorrow and you’ll probably breathe a sigh of relief when Tammy can blog again. She is far less verbose than I.

And by the way, if you are living under that rock, you may want to think about moving. Although I have no direct confirmation, my best guess is that if the rocks do end up with the capability of crying out, they can probably dance too. Think about it. I mean, if He can move mountains…. So keep up the joyous praising. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.