Look Ahead! God’s Uplifting Joy Is Guaranteed to You

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

It may be hard for many of you to see it today, given today’s struggles, but your joy is coming! Hold fast and rest assured in what God has promised.

Introduction

In Psalm 30:4, David said to the people, “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”  I don’t know about you, but I feel like singing praises to the Lord because He has brought us to the end of another year and to the beginning of a new one.  I feel like praising God because of all He has done, and because of what He is about to do.  You see, joy is coming, and that joy is guaranteed, and I feel like praising God because of it!

The Confession of the Heart

Now, some of you may not feel as I do about praising God today.  So, I want to share with you some scripture from Psalm 30 – a psalm of wonderful praise.

Within this psalm, David shared a testimony about his life, and then he sang praises to the Lord.  I want to take a look at his testimony because I believe it will speak to your heart today.

David testifies to a great need

In Psalm 30:1-3, David sang that he would extol (esteem and praise) the Lord because God had lifted him up, and had not let his foes rejoice over him.  David sang that he cried out to the Lord, and God had healed him.  Then David sang about how the Lord had brought his soul up from the grave, kept him alive, that he should not go down to the pit (eternal condemnation).

In his testimony, David acknowledged that his life wasn’t easy, as he had to be lifted up.  Many of us don’t consider that David lived a life as a warrior from the time he was a teenager.  When David stood on the battlefield across from Goliath, because no one else had the courage to do it, he was just a teenage boy (1 Sam. 17:33-44).

From that time going forward,  David fought for his people against their many enemies.  David had to fight against the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Syrians.  The more he fought and won, the more popular he became with the people, which led him to gain another great foe in King Saul.  

Saul saw how the Lord favored David, and he feared losing his throne to him, which was guaranteed to happen (1 Sam. 16:1-13).  So Saul set out to kill David, hunting David whenever he heard mention of where he was.  This led David to living his young adulthood on the run from Saul.

On top of these things, David spoke of having been ill, which may have been a physical illness that he dealt with.  This is something that David spoke of in Psalm 32, when he spoke of his bones growing old and his strength turning into drought.  After committing his great sin, David wearied his soul trying to hide his sin from the people and from God as well.  I believe whatever ailed David was because he was suffering spiritually from the heavy guilt of his sin.

In sharing this testimony, David made a great confession to the people as to why he praised the Lord.  David acknowledged and confessed to needing help in his life.  David spoke of needing God’s help to make it.

What is your confession?

Can we say the same thing about our own lives?  Do you share the same need as David?  I certainly believe that we can.

We are surrounded by those who desire that we fail; they spend their days seeking to hinder us as they do not desire for us to flourish and prosper.  Yet, Paul tells us that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph. 6:12).  Our lives are constantly under threat as our greatest foe, the devil, and his army do everything they can to prevent our blessings.  

Then, there are days when we are our own worst enemy, as we have to deal with our inner demons of fear, doubt, and anxiety.  Like David, I believe all of us ought to see and recognize our need for help!  We need God’s help with our foes!  We need God’s help to heal us and to keep us going so that we can make it, and receive the blessing that He has for us!

To Pray or Not to Pray

David tells us in Psalm 30:2,8 that when he recognized he needed help, he cried out to the Lord–he made his supplications known.  You see, David was a praying man!  David knew where his help came from – it came from the Lord (Psalm 121:1-2).

Do you realize that your help will come from the Lord?  When you are in need, will you cry out to God or not?  You see, some of us refuse to cry out to the one who is able, and we end up stuck in our sorrow and woes.

We must make our supplications known to God today, rather than sitting by quietly, wearying our souls.  We must pray, make our supplications known to God so that He may supply our every need (John 15:7)!  Some will say that God should do that without our prayers, but we ought to pray to God because prayer shows we depend on the Lord and not someone else.  

We must make our supplications known, going boldly before the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace in the eyes of God (Heb. 4:16).  In all that we face and go through in our lives, we need mercy and God’s grace to lift us up!

We must make our supplications known to God so that the peace of God will dwell in us and guard our hearts (Phil. 4:5).  We face an enemy that wants us to live in fear, stress, and anxiety as he desires to paralyze us in doubt.  So, again, we need the peace of God so that we can keep on pushing forward to obtain what God has for us!

The Desire of Joy

David’s call for the people’s praise was because he saw all that God had done for him when he was afflicted.  When he was afflicted, David said that the Lord lifted him up.  When he was surrounded by his foes, David said that God gave him the victory over them so that they didn’t rejoice over him.  When he felt that his soul was troubled, David said that it was the Lord who gave life to his soul.

David was filled with great joy, and in his praise, he sought to encourage those who may have been afflicted as he once was.  David did not want anyone to dwell in sorrow, shame, guilt, and suffering.  You see, the desire of a joyful spirit is for others to also be joyful!

I praise God today because I seek the same as David – to encourage you who may be in sorrow, afflicted, and hurt.  Many of us reach this point every year, and we enter into the new year with trepidation.  Yet, I can no longer enter a new day, let alone a new year, with the same trepidation.

I often share my testimony about those five years of dialysis that the Lord brought me through, which I am certainly happy to share.  However, I have now had a kidney transplant for over five years.  Those who live with a transplant may feel as I often do, when I’m wondering if this dream will come to an end today.  Yet, the Lord continues to bless me day by day, answering my prayers and making a way.

More and more, I learn to cherish each day, enjoying the blessings of life God has given to me.  We must learn to see each day as a blessing from the Lord.  Along with that, we must learn to be grateful and praise the Lord for what we do not see today.

Your Afflictions Will Cease

Considering how this year has gone, many of us may not feel like praising God or making our supplications known to Him.  Many have lost much this past year – jobs, work, homes, family, etc.  

I think back to January, and I haven’t forgotten those fires that destroyed much in California.  I haven’t forgotten about the families that have been torn apart because of the bitter coldness of evil and hatred.  Many are still struggling to have a meal to eat, and many more are concerned about their healthcare.  So, I certainly understand that some of you may not feel like praising God today because you’re thinking to yourself, ‘What is there for me to praise God about?’

May I share what David sang in Psalm 30:5 with you?  David sang that God’s anger is but for a moment.  

Now, I don’t share that to say that the Lord is angry with you.  I honestly wouldn’t know if God is angry with you or not, as that would be between you and the Lord.  However, if the Lord is angry with you, as David sang, I can say that His anger is temporary, as pruning a plant is not a long task (John 15:2).

David sang that God’s favor is forever and not temporary!  You may not recognize this today, but the Lord loves you.  God is always with you, and for that reason alone, I praise the Lord because there is joy in God’s favor!

Because God’s favor is forever, why should you ever think that today’s afflictions will be your end?  God has said that those who believe in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life (John 3:16).  Today’s affliction is but for a moment, as the Lord is working for us a far greater blessing that will triumph over today!

As David said, you may weep today, but the weeping of today will come to an end!  God does not want you to toil in your afflictions and burdens.  God’s desire is for you to rejoice with great joy!  God is going to bring you through, and I can tell you for certain that you will rejoice!

The Certainty Your Joy Is Coming

If you’re wondering, how can I tell you that your joy is coming, guaranteed, then I must point to God as proof that your joy is guaranteed.  You see, the fact of the matter is that God must care about you.  I don’t say that in the sense that God answers to you or to some higher authority, because there is no authority higher than the Lord.

God must care about your

God must care about you because He has to be faithful to Himself first.  In Hebrews 6:13-14, Paul wrote, “When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

When we say that God can do all things but fail, I want you to understand that He holds Himself accountable–He cannot fail Himself.  With that in mind, God must care about you because of His promises!  Let us consider for a moment the promises of the Lord to all of us.

Along with the promise of not perishing, God promised that we will bear much fruit if we choose to abide with Him and He with us.  It is impossible for us to bear good fruit if our souls are bitter and filled with anger and wrath (Jas. 1:19-20).  So, God must uplift you and bring joy to your soul because of that promise alone.

David, in his testimony of praying to God, tells us in Psalm 30:9 that he asked the Lord, “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?”  He then asked, “Will the dust praise You?  Will it declare Your truth?”

God has promised to give us the desires of our hearts so that we may testify of His goodness, being a light in this dark world.  We have been commissioned by Christ to share the good news of salvation with all peoples.  Again, it is not possible for us to do those things if our souls are in a place of misery.

Let all of us understand today that God’s promises make our souls a top priority of His.  God must see to the well-being of your soul because He has promised to Himself to do just that!  Once again, I tell you that your joy is coming because God cannot fail Himself.

Seal of Christ and the Holy Spirit

Finally, the proof that your joy is coming was sealed when the Father gave His only begotten Son.  

Christ was given for the purpose of defeating sin for us.  Christ is God’s salvation – our deliverer from the chains of sin.  Christ was given to teach us God’s way so that we may know and have peace!  Christ said, “These things (God’s way), I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).”

After He shed His blood for us, the sealing of our joy was given through the Holy Spirit, who comes to make a home in all who believe.  Your salvation and joy, when you have sincerely believed, cannot be lost!  And again, I tell you that I praise God today because my salvation and joy have been sealed through the shedding of Jesus’ blood.  I praise God today because the sealing of my salvation and joy lives in my soul.

Because God’s joy has come to dwell in me, I will not look ahead pessimistically.  Repeat after me, if you believe:  I will learn to look ahead with hope and joy.  Repeat after me, if you believe:  I will put my trust in God’s care of me.  Repeat after me, if you believe:  I will not surrender my joy today, and my joy tomorrow to no man, to no demon, nor to the devil himself.  

I certainly understand how difficult this year may have been for many of you, but mark my words, your joy is coming.  God is going to lift you up!  Your foes will not rejoice over you.  Your soul won’t enter the pit; it will live, and for that, you have reason to rejoice and praise God today.