Check Your Joy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. Esther 9:22

Sometimes life’s circumstances can suck the joy right out of you. A beautiful Jewish woman who God brought to power as the great Xerxes’ wife experienced this joy thief. Remember how she held the King’s heart in her hand. (And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vasht .Esther 2:17(KJV)) I can only imagine what she must have felt or experienced as the King’s favorite. To be at the center of the power of this great empire, stretching from India to Ethiopia, must have been heady.

Then, suddenly, her world and her very life were threatened. Don’t you think Esther, treasured queen, felt as if the joy had evaporated from her world as Haman plotted the destruction for the Jewish people? (This story of destruction is found in Esther 3.) Esther knew she and her people faced certain death. They all needed rescuing.

But follow the story further into the book of Esther and find how God intervened and rescued His people. Out of this rescue came the new holiday Purim. Look at their celebration in Esther 9:22 (See this verse at the top of the devotion.): What did their celebration look like? How did they celebrate this rescue? What emotions were involved? How marvelous is our God to rescue people out of certain death and turn their sorrow in to joy.

At some time in your life, just like Esther, you faced certain spiritual death and all your joy could have evaporated out of your life at a moment’s notice. However, if you asked Jesus to give you the marvelous gift of salvation, you were rescued from this certain death. And His joy was added to your life.

Do you have your own Feast of Purim? A time when you celebrate your rescue from certainty of spiritual death? Maybe you do this at Christmas or Easter or times you participate in the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes we forget to celebrate the good things or people in our lives, and as a result our lives become joyless. Are you bogged down by the circumstances of your life? Are you joyless?

Maybe this week you need to take a day, hour or moment to have your own joy celebration. Remember how you needed a Savior. Remember how Jesus rescued you. Finally, rejoice with someone else over your rescue. Joy turned from sorrow is a good thing.

Dear Jesus, Help me to make time this week to celebrate with joy how You rescued me. Thanks for reminding me of this fact. Amen.

*An interesting fact about Purim: the word Purim means lots. Haman (the evil guy in Esther) cast lots to decide the date of the Jewish execution. I’m glad God does not cast lots to see who He rescues.