Source of Joy
Luke 10:17-20 begins with a ministry team returning home excited about what they accomplished on their trip. They were amazed and elated over the power they had. Jesus’ response was first to be excited with them, almost cheering them on. “Yeah, I’ve given you the authority and power to deal with Satan and every problem he brings about.”
But then Jesus reminds them that their joy shouldn’t be connected to their happy, exciting circumstances. Even though this was spiritual activity, the disciples were grading it on a humanly, worldly scale. Jesus tells them their true cause for joy is that their names are written in heaven.
Throughout his letters to the various churches, Paul encourages the believers to rejoice in Christ and His resurrection. His payment for our sins. His love for us. Our circumstances change countless times over the course of life. “The sun shines and the rain falls on the good and the evil,” Matt 5:45. But our true source for joy never changes. We just have to remember what it is.
from my notebook 