Introduction
Orson
Well’s movie Citizen Kane is a story
about a man who climbs the ladder of upper society. His search is always for happiness. At the very end, despite all of his gain in
wealth, he leaves behind everything and nobody to give his possession to. What he did leave behind were ruined
relationships, angry people, and a world full of stuff that is of no use to
anybody. So what or who is it that gave
Citizen Kane the greatest happiness?
What or who is it that made him glad?
In this story of tragedy only one person or thing gave him
gladness…Rosebud. I will not tell you
who or what Rosebud was, because I want you to see this movie, but it (or they)
were the only thing that gave him any happiness.
We
all have Rosebuds in our lives. A moment
that we look back at that brings a smile.
That thing that we may even still have in our possession that reminds us
of a happy moment in life. Or a person
who knew how to bring a smile to our face.
We all have Rosebuds. However
according to this Psalm there is only One who can bring real gladness to our
hearts.
Review
Last
week we answered the question, “What do you meditate on?” In that brief discussion we saw that the
meditation was filling our lives with thoughts on the scriptures and how that
God could use it to work in our lives.
It was something that pleased Him because it was committed to Him in
thought and life. Today I want to look
at this continuation of the four things we can do to make 2017 a much richer
year.
There is Nothing
Wrong with Being Glad
We
live in a society of extremes. On the
one hand there is the more liberal influence that does not want any of us
happy. From their view if we are glad
then we are artificial and uncaring. On
the other hand there are those of a more materialistic finding that feel there
things and people should bring us the needed contentment. The extreme of this is called hedonism where
pleasure is sought after for exhilaration.
But is it wrong to be glad about something?
If
it were wrong to be glad about things then the Bible would not mention it in a
positive light. However this gladness is
viewed in a different way than the world may view it. There is something else that is communicated.
The
KJV and NIV both translate the word glad as “rejoice.” In the Hebrew the word being used אֶשְׂמַח
(asmh) which can also mean “to be merry.”[1] As it was in the first half of this verse
regarding meditation, there is something or someone with whom this glad
rejoicing of merriment is to occur. It
is the Lord in whom this happens. The
idea of “in the” is that of a relationship.
If someone does not belong to the Lord they cannot rejoice in Him. Without a personal connection of knowing what
pleases Him in our meditations there is no true rejoicing.
What Are We To Show
Gladness For?
The
short answer to this question can be found in Philippians 4:4-8. Paul encouraged the Philippian believers in
Philippians 4:4 to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Paul’s admonition mirrors that of the
psalmist. This rejoicing is to be done
always, it is an expression of joy over and over. Again it is to be done “in the Lord” meaning
that a relationship is necessary in order of this to happen. That relationship can only come through Jesus
Christ.
The
second thing we see is from verse 5. We
are to rejoice in light of the fact that the Lord is present in our situation,
“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” The idea of a gentle or spirit controlled
person who rejoices is done because of the assurance of God’s involvement in
our lives.
The
third thing is seen in verses 6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” We are to rejoice in prayer
despite what is going on around us. We
can do this because in confidence we can take our concerns to the very Lord who
is involved in our lives. Gladness does
not ignore the circumstances, rather it acknowledges God’s intervening
power. Regardless of how He intervenes,
gladness is matched with peace which guard’s the heart during the time of
difficulty.
Finally,
we see from verses 8-9 that gladness in the Lord is found in what we think
about. Or better what we meditate up on,
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is
any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be
with you.” Paul states that the key is
to keep our minds on things that honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good report
and that encourages praise toward the Lord.
Charles
Spurgeon put it best, “Live in the light of your Lord, and let your soul always
be ravished with His love. Take in the
nourishment which this portion yields you.
Live up to your privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.”[2]
I
think that quote sums up being “glad in the Lord!”
NEXT WEEK: LIVING A LIFE OF BLESSING THE LORD DAILY
His Servant with You,
Steven
Swaim
President & Founder,
Be Devoted Ministries
If you have any speaking
engagements in which you would like for me to speak, feel free and contact me
at StevenSwaim@BeDevotedMinistries.com. Please place “Speaking Engagement” in the
subject line. I will need a contact
phone number, date of the event, and the place in which I will be speaking. All other arrangements will be made when
contact is initiated by me.
Look for my book Walking Faith
