1 Peter 1:3-9 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Joy, joy, joy, joy. A word that we know so well but still sometimes we do not feel it. We sing songs about joy, but we are silent when we are overwhelmed with trials. We read scriptures about joy, but we forget them when we struggle. We experience joy when in God’s presence, but we experience grief when we are alone. What a joy it would be if we could just maintain our joy. We are human, so joy unspeakable joy is easier said than done right? Or is it?
I am thankful for the wisdom God has given my wife Kim. One-time I was frustrated with things at work that were hindering my joy. And my wife reminded me that “joy is a daily choice.” That statement made me stop and think. Is joy really a choice? We know that we are in the world but not of the world. We know that hardships are inevitable. We know that even though the enemy tries to steal our joy that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So how do we choose joy? I believe 1 Peter 1:3-9 gives us keys of how to choose joy.
- Praise. Verse 3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”. Joy starts with praising God. Giving thanks to Him. Showing our gratitude to Him. Honor changes the atmosphere. No matter how we are feeling, or what we are going through we should always give God the praise. It is not about feelings, it is not about whatever situation we are in. We should always give God the praise. Why? Because “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
- Acceptance. Verse 4 “and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade…”. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we are adopted into the kingdom of God. We can now cry out “Abba Father.” We now have an inheritance for all eternity. There may be times when we feel alienated or abandoned. We may feel at times like being a misfit or an outcast. Who am I? Where do I fit in? Am I worthy enough? We can choose joy because we are accepted, we are not abandoned, and we are worthy enough. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I realized that was the easy part, by accepting Him. The hard part though was trying to accept the fact that He accepted me! Why would He accept someone like me despite the sin, guilt, shame, insecurities, frustrations, and failures of my past? My view of that had changed after experiencing the love of God. I choose joy because I finally knew that God loves me. It took me a long while, but I know that I know that He has accepted me too.
- Protection and Promise. Verse 5 “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” We can choose joy because we are under Gods protection. We may never know why bad things happen to good people, but we do know that God still cares about us. He wants to save, heal, and deliver us. We have this promise of Gods protection that Jesus will one day come for His bride. We choose joy when we declare, “come Lord Jesus come!”
- Trials do not last. Verse 6 “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” We choose joy when we learn to rejoice. Suffering is real but the trials do not have to last. When experiencing hardships, it is normal to feel sad and to grieve. Grief is part of the healing process, so go ahead and cry and express your grievances. But do not camp there. We have this promise in Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” We choose joy when our focus is on the One who is with us during a trial.
- Faith. Verse 7 “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” We choose joy because we know that trials can be a testing of our faith. And that faith is far greater and more valuable than gold. Faith pleases God. Joy produces faith and faith produces joy.
- Love God. Verse 8 -9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” How awesome is the love of God?! We are able to have joy unspeakable joy because of His love. We are able to love God because He loves us.
One of the most joyful people I knew was a friend of mine who was disabled. He was paralyzed from the waist down and had to rely on a wheelchair to be mobile. Despite his disability my friend was still full of joy. He was regularly active and always had a smile on his face. I remember when guest speakers would visit our church they would pray for healing for my friend. But how do you pray for healing for someone who is living their life as if they were already healed? My friend believed in healing, but he would tell people who pray for him that God has already healed him. He would tell them that having the joy of the Lord inside of him is how he was healed. My friend used that joy to help others who are disabled. His testimony was that he did not allow his disability to hinder his enjoyment in life. His weaknesses became his strengths. Sadly, my friend passed away several years ago. But he was an inspiration and impacted many lives with the joy of the Lord.
Choose joy.
