As He knew joy in serving–and suffering.
Enjoying God: Part 1 (5)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12.1, 2
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard. Psalm 22.24
Heaven yes, but…
During a recent sermon the preacher touched on the text above, Hebrews 12.1, 2. He was making the case—a valid case, indeed—for not letting our trials get the best of us. He pointed us to Jesus, as does the writer of Hebrews, and explained that, even during His great suffering, Jesus could have joy because of what He was anticipating.
And here’s where the sermon fell short. The preacher continued, “What was He hoping for that could give Him joy amid such suffering? Heaven! He was looking ahead to heaven! And this filled Him with great joy.”
Now this is true, as far as it goes. Jesus was thinking about heaven. He knew that, upon His ascension to heaven, He would be given a Kingdom and know the fullness of joy with His Father and the Spirit (cf. Dan. 7.13, 14; Ps. 110). He knew there would be rejoicing in heaven and that His joy there would be great. All this is doubtless true.
But it’s not the whole of what Jesus was anticipating as the source of His joy. For He was thinking about our joy as well as His.
The joy that was set before Jesus was joy that is to be known in the coming of His Kingdom. And this is all very clear from the second part of Psalm 22.
Joy in the anticipation of joy
We are all familiar with the first part of Psalm 22—the verses that clearly depict the suffering of God’s Servant on the cross (vv. 1-21). That Jesus applied that psalm to Himself as He hung on the cross is clear from His crying out the words of the first part of verse 1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
It’s not that Jesus didn’t know the answer to that question. He did, as can be plainly seen in all His teaching about the necessity of His death. He prayed those words aloud to cue up those who were watching Him die concerning what was happening before them, and especially, for those who believed in Him, regarding what He would accomplish by His death.
By fulfilling His calling, serving God and His people, Jesus ensured the coming of the Kingdom of God, glimpses of which are set forth in the second half of Psalm 22, and which Jesus could see in prospect as He hung on the cross. What did He see that made His service worthwhile and gave Him such joy?
We must be brief: What Jesus saw from the cross, what His suffering was about to accomplish, was the coming of the Kingdom of God. A great assembly of God’s people and Jesus Himself teaching them to praise and glorify the Lord (vv. 22-25). Relief of the poor and especially, we can believe, the poor in spirit, who know they are in need of salvation (v. 26). From every nation and family of the earth, people coming into the Kingdom of God, submitting to His rule and worshiping Him with praise (vv. 27, 28). All the people of the earth, rich and poor, living and dead, bowing and praising the Lord (v. 29). A posterity of true worshipers who would do just what Jesus Himself was doing—serve the Lord from generation to generation (vv. 30, 31) in the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, serving God and us on the cross, looked ahead to the fruit of His service—the widespread, far-flung proclamation of righteousness by grace through faith (v. 31)—and the coming of His Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
And seeing this, Jesus knew the joy of the Lord in the midst of His trials. From this we learn two important lessons about joy: First, that there is joy in anticipating joy; and second, that we can know joy in the midst of our sorrows and sufferings if we will engage these as part of our service to God and our neighbor.
Joy in the midst of sorrows
Habakkuk summarized both lessons:
Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills. (Hab. 3.17-19)
Whatever our sorrow, whatever our suffering, if we embrace these as part of our service to the Lord—as Jesus did—then we can know and enjoy our God and be filled with peace and joy, both in the prospect of His blessing and amid our sorrows.
We are called to serve the Lord and our neighbors. And, while serving is not always convenient, easy, or painless, our service can be a source of joy. Joy in knowing that we are serving as Jesus did. Joy in the experience of His being present with us. And joy in the prospect of how God may use our service to help others know and enjoy Him.
And nothing can keep us from this joy.
Search the Scriptures
1. Meditate on Hebrews 12.1-3. What does it mean to “consider” Jesus? How can that help us enjoy God?
2. Read Psalm 22.21-31. Jesus saw multitudes blessed of God and enjoying Him in worship. How do you express the joy of the Lord in worship?
3. Why should we expect to enjoy the Lord even as we are serving Him?
Next steps—Preparation: Whatever your work is or whatever challenges you may face, how can you prepare for these to make sure they don’t keep you from enjoying the Lord?
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
How should joy affect our lives as Christians? Our booklet, Joy to Your World!, can show you how both to know more of the Lord’s joy and to invite others into it as well. Order your copy by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
