But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.
—Psalm 5:11
I recently had an interesting experience at one of our Wednesday night services. After opening with prayer, I often instruct the congregation to greet one another, and I say something like, “Tell someone you have never met you’re glad they’re here.” This particular Wednesday night, however, I said, “Before you sit down, tell someone near you that Jesus is coming soon.” It was stunning and beautiful how just the reminder of that great truth shifted people’s thoughts from their busy weeks to a blessed future hope. In a room full of people in the middle of all their normal weekly stuff, smiles and tangible joy bubbled forth.
There is a progression here in this psalm we don’t want to miss. We shout for joy because we trust in Him, knowing He is our defense. Just the mention of His name or even His return causes us to be joyful in Him. So if you are in the middle of a mess or just the normal busyness of life, remind yourself that your hope and your trust are in God. The immoveable, unchanging almighty God is the one you trust in. So shout for joy—He is your defense. Be joyful in Him—He can be trusted.
God will never fail you, and just the mention of His name, His cross, His return, His provision, His protection, or anything else that He does is cause for joy. But the greatest thing about this is that when you look at life and all is not well, when your life is a mess or possibly even tragic, when maybe you feel like heaven is all you have to look forward to, remind yourself of God’s care and faithfulness, and rejoice in that.
Heaven is something to look forward to, and I believe that Jesus is coming for us all very soon. That will put a smile on all of our faces. I know, because I saw it happen right before my eyes. Tell people today that Jesus is coming soon. They may not have smiles on their faces, but it will certainly keep one in your heart!
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