Recently the Lord asked me, “When is the last time you rejoiced with joy inexpressible?”.
1 Peter 1:8 (NKJV) says “whom having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”. We cannot see God face to face, but our belief in Him gives us the ability to rejoice anyway! Are you standing in that belief and living with that inexpressible joy?
The verse doesn’t say that you can only have joy inexpressible when things are perfect. It doesn’t say you can only have joy inexpressible when everything is going your way and everyone in your home is acting right. That’s because joy from the Lord isn’t based on circumstance. It’s based on His goodness. And His goodness isn’t up for debate. It’s never-ending. It’s constant. He can’t be separated from His goodness, nor can His goodness be separated from Him. Your access to His joy and His goodness isn’t based on circumstance either! It’s based on your faith!
What keeps us from walking in faith and living with joy is having our focus on the wrong thing. We all know that Psalms 23:5 (NKJV) tells us “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies”. David wrote this Psalm while he was a shepherd. He was all alone with his flock. That means the only ones who heard him as he was writing this Psalm were him and the Lord. When he wrote it, he was reminding himself of all ways God had provided for him and protected him and his flock from attack. He was reflecting on that provision that he had seen time and time again.
So, when the enemy attacks, are you looking at the attack or are you looking at the table? I think some of us look at this verse and imagine a big banquet table where we are seated on one side and all the demons in hell get to pull up a chair on the other side. We can’t even imagine eating from the table because we are so focused on who we think is eating with us.
Let’s clear up this misunderstanding.
The table is an illustration of God’s provision, of His sustaining power. When I read this verse I see a table with a great big meal and all the fixings. And there is the host, The Lord God Almighty, sliding out my chair for me. He is inviting me to share in this meal that He has prepared. And the only other seat at the table is His. It’s intimate. This table isn’t prepared for my enemies. It’s prepared for me, in their presence. It’s a notice to all my enemies that I serve a God who loves me intimately and personally and who provides all my needs.
So back to joy inexpressible. When your focus is on God and on the table, your faith will rise. And this rising will give way to joy! Just like David, spend time reminding yourself of the faithfulness of God’s provision. We don’t yet see Him face to face, “yet believing”, you can rejoice!
