“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Is 12:3, NKJ)
Just a last thought regarding the showbread that specifically relates here to the importance of joy in serving the Lord, and specifically joy in spite of circumstances. We know well by now that this joy bubbles like water from within you, and that God, through the Holy Spirit, gives it to “the one who pleases Him” (Ecc 2:26). When it says in Is 64:5: “You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness”, it points out a very important key. Joy and gladness are the evidence that you have truly been in the Presence of God. Note how even in the Old Testament emphasis is placed on “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17), the only three touchstones for determining whether you function within the Kingdom of God.
Thus, if you have steadfast joy irrespective of bad circumstances, then you have eaten of the showbread of His Presence. You have found bread to eat that others do not know about (John 4:34)! Jer 15:16 has become true of you: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, o Lord God of hosts”! In this “wilful submission” the Name of God is called over you, and the joy of the Lord becomes your strength (Neh 8:10). It is nicely put in the Afrikaans translation that the joy of the Lord becomes your covering!
Thus Is 51:3 says it aptly: “For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert places like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.” Is 35:10: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall returned, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
- Sela: Confess your powerlessness and pray that God will empower you with joy!
- Read: Ex 36; Ps 86; Mark 12
- Memorise: Mark 12:24
- Going deeper: The Scripture that you need to memorise says clearly that we “stray” because we do not know the power of God. This teaching brings a totally new perspective on how we need to enlarge our understanding of how this power works. Study this in the light of Job 15:23.
