Sara’s Notes of Joy-I wrote this article about ten years ago when asked by an online magazine at the time to write an article on Joy. I must say I return to this article many times as a refresher course to Rejoice. Hope you enjoy this article as well as you read and REjoice today!
(Zephaniah 3:17) “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
What do you do when The Lord is rejoicing with gladness and singing over you?
In the book of Zephaniah the prophet is describing the destruction of Judah, Philistine, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, and Assyria by the might nation of Babylon. Yet, Zephaniah was assuring these nations that not one nation of people was too far from God’s love, and not one nation was too small for His power! Then he closes this little book with powerful promises and encouraging the people to respond positively to God’s full circle of love.
How? (Zephaniah 3:14) “Sing, shout and be glad and rejoice with all your heart. (Verse 15 Amplified) (For then it will be that) the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy.”
Many times we find that we can sing, shout, clap and rejoice when we have our victories. When God has answered our prayers, or when we feel good for the day. The question to us is; are we able to sing, shout and rejoice in the midst of our troubles. In the middle of a busy day or in the emotional fear of the night?
The prophet Habakkuk finds everything in his external world that can go wrong going wrong. And, he declares “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk goes on to tell us about his exuberance and his leaping for joy over his fellowship with Yahweh, his Lord.
Music Notes when sung, shouted or danced in the midst of our troubles produces Joy. We must make the music notes live by responding to God ‘s singing and dancing over us.
The Apostle Paul wrote a beautiful letter “chopped full” of Joy Notes to the Philippians. One of the many things we see Paul conveying in this letter is how we are to have a mind through which Christ can think. A heart through which Christ can love, a tongue through which Christ can speak and sing, a face through which Christ can smile and shine, hands through which Christ can work and exhibit joy, and feet through which Christ can leap and dance. This is saying we are to be a Mosaic of Joy.
In (Philippians 4:9) Paul, says “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Be a Mosaic of Joy like Paul. He says my life ambition is to “Know Him.” (Philippians 3:10) “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
(Psalm 30:5b) “Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy comes in the morning.”
Don’t wait for Joy to come to you but let us go to Joy. Arise to His Beauty and Joy will come in many forms. Joy will inspire your day, your work and your life. Sara’s Notes of Joy!
You can still read my article on Joy as well as many others:
The Handmaiden Vol 3 Issue 1: JOY! Home Page
thedailylily.com 
Thanks for this great article. I love this part, ‘Don’t wait for Joy to come to you but let us go to Joy. Arise to His Beauty and Joy will come in many forms.’ Says to me don’t be passive, but proactive. Step out in obedience and faith and He will meet you.
Sara sent a link to a missionary’s addressing the student body at Anderson University. Although Ann Smith is now 84 years of age the wisdom and modernity of her address was amazing and received with respect and graciousness by the students. One of her remarks that made an impression upon me, among others, was to the effect, and I paraphrase..’pain and joy can exist together, although pain and happiness cannot.’ So even if one is going through phsical pain or even worse, emotional or psychological pain, yet that inward joy of knowing that the Lord God Almighty holds me and my future in His merciful and gracious hands will be a source of joy to me despite the transient pain and heartache.
And like Sara intimated….’let us go to joy’ That means joy is always there in the heart, the spirit, of the believer who trusts in the Lord for salvation. We just have to make a determination to tap into it. Life is sooo fleeting. Like the song from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF…Sunrise, Sunset…the days dwindle and we have not taken advantage of the comfort and consolation that joy affords us no matter what situation we are in.
Yes, let us indeed “run to it”!! Capture it, embrace it, immerse ourselves in it, visit it daily. Joy cometh in the MORNING and joy also cometh in the MOURNING.
I recall working on a class mosaic art project as a child. Alone, the small irregular forms of ceramic tiles didn’t look like art to me. They just looked like colorful, disconnected pieces. However, when combined into a whole with a purposeful pattern and form they became beautiful and useful.
I can see through Sara’s illustration above of the ‘chopped full’ joy notes how the artful beauty of joy can truly show when the mind, heart, tongue, face, hands and feet all come together allowing Christ to have His way in each.
Sara’s & Debi’s comments concerning how mosaic parts & pieces bring together a whole remind me the Hymn by Martin Rinkert that goes:
“NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD
WITH HEARTS AND HANDS AND VOICES…..”
We bring these “mosaic pieces” of our hearts, our hands and our voices to make a frame for our pieces to praise our God…(see Debi’s comment)
We bring the mosaic pieces of praise, worship, adoration, prayer, supplication, obedience & thanksgiving to praise our God.
We bring the mosaic pieces of love, compassion, giving, sacrifice to make a whole, all coming together to praise our God.
When our lives become integrated and Christ and Father are the central theme, all the pieces of our lives will come together to complete the puzzle that then fits into the whole picture of the universal Body of Christ.
Patsy Clairmont writes, “When joy is deep within us, we will walk through this life with a lifted heart, soul and mind.”
It’s days like today when we hear the sad, very sad, news from Ft. Hood Tx and the many families that have lost their loved ones. What a tragedy for our Nation. It takes the joy deep within us to lift our voices to Our Heavenly Father †o ask for comfort, safety and hope for each and every soldier, civilian and their family members that are suffering from this tragedy at this very hour.
As Ann Smith says, pain and joy can coexist. This is a mystery! We may find a clue written in Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We send our condolences, thoughts and prayers to all in Ft. Hood Tx.
Yes, I join with you in prayers.
Thanks Nancy…for joining me in prayer for the families of Ft. Hood Tx.
CCI/thedailylily.org LILIES attended a glorious INTERCESSORY PRAYER SEMINAR today where was reiterated the importance and the methods of intercessory prayer in and for the Body of Christ. Intercessory prayer is that heartfelt, fervent, earnest prayer that moves mountains as GOD responds to and acts in our behalf in fulfilling our petitions. It is not a superficial”bless ’em God” prayer, per se.
Pastor Brian Wells taught us that the handbook for Intercessory prayer is given to us in the Book of Nahum in the Old Testament. Part of what Pastor Wells taught was in Nahum 3 on how to prepare for Spiritual warfare as a prayer warrior. the Lord God says in verse 14 ….#1. “draw waters for the seige….waters stand for the water of the WORD and HOLY SPIRIT. #2 Fortify our strongholds….Christ is our strong tower…strengthen our relationship with Him #3 dig into the clay…dig into the word of God…dig deeply, enmesh oneself in that foundational clay of the word #4. Tread the mortar…which is the “glue” that…that is the LOVE that keeps all things together and # 5. Make the brickklin strong to withstand the excessive heat of the battle with the enemy when he sees you are digging in to touch the throne of God in intercession.
I post this here as I read what Sara and Nancy said about praying for our soldiers and especially for the wounded ones at Fort Hood and in Afghanistand and Iraq. They do need intercessory prayer that casts down the strongholds of the enemy and allows God to work in His behalf to draw men and women unto Himself by the Holy Spirit if we will but pray and intercede with deep devotion and sincerity of heart. We must prepare our heart, first of all, keeping the LOVE of God primary in our focus. Praying for their safety, praying for their families, their babies, this little ones, their teenagers. Praying for their salvation, being in harm’s way never knowing the next moment what will befall them. Praying for the enemy’s defeat and withdrawal. God did it with the Egyptians in the book of Exodus. He is still the same God. And with fervent intercession on our part, this mountain can be cast into the sea.
I join in prayer for the families that were suddenly touched by death or injury at Fort Hood. The enemy was never expected to be on the homeland. Totally taken off guard disaster. Thank God we have a GOD who’s LOVE is being poured out to touch each family. Knowing the grief He stands their ready to wrap each one in His embrace. He points each to His Son who through His sacrifice on the cross extends HOPE so that each family can pick up the courage to face another day and HOPE for a future. Lord bless each family. Send those people around them to help them get through this terrible grief and come again to HOPE for the future. In Jesus Name – Our HOPE!
“Zephaniah was assuring these nations that not one nation of people was too far from God’s love, and not one nation was too small for His power! Then he closes this little book with powerful promises and encouraging the people to respond positively to God’s full circle of love.”
My sister gave me for my Birthday a powerful little book of Wilson Kimeli Niyomah, “14 Cows for America.” My very favorite quote from this books is, “Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort.”To find out more about this book visit; http://14cowsforamerica.com/
“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit” (Galatians 6:9, the Message)
As Paul was writing this I wonder if he noticed JOY seeping from the souls of those working so hard, including himself, and feeling they were not getting any thanks and seeing no tangible results. In verse 6, Paul instructs us that we should take care of the material needs of our teachers. (Also see I Corinthians 9:7-12) My footnotes remind us that it is so easy to receive good Bible Teaching, spiritual counsel and then take our spiritual leaders for granted, ignoring their financial and physical needs. We should care for our teachers, not grudgingly or reluctantly, but with generous spirit, showing honor and appreciation for all they have done.
As I said in blog, “don’t wait for joy to come to us but let us go to joy.” When we get up and not allow ourselves to become fatigued and act on the teachings and counsel we have received from the Word of God, we find JOY!
I see people with the cart before the horse and yelling at the horse to give them a ride. Anything but order in the mind and yet they still want JOY! The thought comes to mind just give them a “Beggin’ Strip’ like we give our doggies and maybe they will just zip their sour mouths and go away…..
Guess we had better have JOY in our heart so it is like a spring which is constantly watering our lives. Negative reflection could bring bitter waters to our JOY! The following song came to mind that I would sing with my Sunday School children. We need to hold on to it.
I’ve Got the Joy
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Where? Down in my heart!
Where? Down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
down in my heart
down in my heart to stay.
And if the Devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack.
OUCH
Sit on a tack.
OUCH
Sit on a tack.
And if the Devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack
Sit on a tack today.
I’ve got the peace that passes understanding,
Down in my heart,
Where? Down in my heart!
Where? Down in my heart!
I’ve got the peace that passes understanding,
down in my heart
down in my heart to stay.
I’ve the got love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart,
Where? Down in my heart!
Where? Down in my heart!
I’ve the got love of Jesus, love of Jesus
down in my heart,
down in my heart to stay.
I’ve got the wonderful love of my precious redeemer way down in the depths of my heart,
Where? Down in the depths of my heart,
Where? Down in the depths of my heart.
I’ve got the wonderful love of my precious redeemer way down in the depths of my heart;
down in the depths of my heart to stay!
I’ve got the love for all people down in my heart
Where? Down in my heart
Where? Down in my heart
I’ve got the love for all people down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay.
And I’m so happy. So very happy !
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
And I’m so happy so very happy
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!
Rena, I remember singing this happy song many times myself. But never heard vs. 6. I wonder if we could really sing with honesty that verse, “I’ve got the love for all people down in my heart?” Hopefully, we do.
We at least know about and may know the ONE that does have great Love for all peoples. He even gave His life by suffering and dying and hanging on a cross for the purpose of loving all of us and giving all hope for Eternal Life of Good.
As believers in the eternal God we look forward to everlasting life with Him. And, that will include many peoples from all walks of life since Jesus does have love for all peoples down in His Heart, and I’m so Happy!!!!