"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day" Psalm 89:15,16.
"Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart" Psalm 97:11.
"I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" John 8:12.
"I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you" John 16:22.
"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" 2 Corinthians 6:10.
A father will always be eager to see his children joyful. He does all that he can to make them happy. Likewise, God also desires that His children should walk before Him with a joyful heart. He has promised them joy--He will give it.1 He has commanded it--we must take it and walk in it at all times.2
The reason for this is not difficult to find. Joy is always the evidence that something really satisfies me and has great value for me. Joy, more than anything else, recommends its cause to others. And joy in God is the strongest proof that I have in God what satisfies and satiates me. It shows that I do not serve Him with dread, or remain faithful only because He is my salvation. Joy is the mark of the truth, the worth of obedience, and shows whether I have pleasure in the will of God.3 It is for this reason that joy in God is so acceptable to Him, so strengthening to believers themselves and to all who are exposed to the most eloquent testimony of what we think of God.4
In the Scriptures, light and joy are frequently connected with each other.5 It is so in nature. The joyful light of the morning awakens the birds to their song and gladdens the watchers who, in the darkness, have longed for the day. It is the light of God's countenance that gives the Christian his joy. In fellowship with his Lord, he can, and always will, be happy. The love of the Father shines like the sun on His children.6 When darkness comes over the soul, it is always through one of two things--through sin or through unbelief. Sin is darkness and makes life dark. Unbelief also makes life dark, for it turns us from Him, who alone is the light.
The question is sometimes asked, "Can the Christian always walk in the light?" The answer of our Lord is clear, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness." It is sin, the turning from Jesus to our own way, that makes darkness. But at the moment we confess sin, and have it cleansed in the blood, we are again in the light.
Other times it is unbelief that causes darkness. When we look to ourselves and our strength, when we seek comfort in our own feelings, or our own works, then all becomes dark. As soon as we look to Jesus, to the fullness--the perfect provision for our needs that is in Him--all is light. He says, "I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." So long as I believe, I have light and joy.8
Christians, who want to walk according to the will of the Lord, hear what His Word says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always: again, I will say, Rejoice."9 In the Lord Jesus there is unspeakable joy--full of glory. Believing in Him, rejoice in this. Live the life of faith. That life is salvation and glorious joy. A heart that gives itself undividedly to follow Jesus, that lives by faith in Him and His love, will have light and joy. Therefore, soul, only believe. Do not seek joy--in that case you will not find it, because you are seeking feeling. But seek Jesus, follow Jesus, believe in Jesus, and joy will be given to you. "Ye see him not, yet believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8).
Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world, the radiance of the unapproachable light, in whom we see the light of God. From Your countenance radiates upon us the illumination of the knowledge of the love and glory of God. And You are ours, our light and our salvation. Teach us to believe more firmly that with You we can never walk in the darkness. Let joy in You be the proof that You are all to us and our strength to do all that You would have us do. Amen.
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Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917)
Brother Andrew Murray was a well-known writer/preacher in South Africa who ministered amongst the Dutch Reformed churches. His writings now are widely accepted by modern evangelicals and he is published more than ever in his life-time.Some of his better known books titles are: "Abide In Christ", "Absolute Surrender," and "Humility." His burden for the body of Christ were teachings on the abiding Spirit of Christ in the believer, the life of faith with God daily, and the life of intercession and prayer in the Church.
Andrew Murray was possibly the strongest spokesman of the Philadelphian age to expound the Body's necessity to abide in Christ, like the Apostle John before him.
Murray was born into a family of four children in the then remote Graaff-Reinet region (near the Cape) of South Africa. Educated in Scotland, which was followed by theological studies in Holland, Andrew returned to his native land to work as a missionary and minister. Given the daunting task of ministering to Bloemfontein, a remote region of 50,000 square miles and 12,000 people beyond the Orange River, Murray already began to sense the need to for the "deeper Christian life".
Though successful in preaching and bringing many to Christ, Murray found many of his greatest lessons in the School of Suffering, as will all who follow in the path of obedience.
Andrew Murray was one of four children born to Pastor Andrew, Sr., and Maria Murray. He was raised in what was considered to be the most remote corner of the world - Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. Educated in Scotland and Holland, in 1848 Andrew, Jr., returned to South Africa as a missionary and minister with the Dutch Reformed Church. His first appointment was to Bloemfontein, a territory of nearly 50,000 square miles and 12,000 people.
Andrew and his brother John had been in close contact with a revival movement in Scotland, an evangelical extension of the ongoing Second Great Awakening in America. He prayed for the same sort of awakening for the church in South Africa and wrote, "My prayer is for revival, but I am held back by the increasing sense of my own unfitness for the work. I lament the awful pride and self complacency that have till now ruled my heart. O that I may be more and more a minister of the Spirit." (J. du Plessis, The Life of Andrew Murray)
In 1860, revival did come to the churches of Cape Town, South Africa, and subsequently spread to surrounding towns and villages. Even remote farms and plantations felt the impact as lives were changed. Where once the churches had not been able to find one man ready to be a leader for God, the revival raised up 50 in Murray's Cape Town parish alone. There were more conversions in one month in that parish than in the whole course of its previous history. (Leona Choy, Andrew Murray: Apostle of Abiding Love)
Greatly concerned for the spiritual guidance of new converts and renewed Christians, Andrew Murray wrote over 240 books. His writings reflect his own longing for a deeper life in Christ and his prayer that others would long for and experience that life as well.