Joy on the Fourth of July
2 Chron. 30:26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.
On this Fourth of July if you ask 100 people what is their goal in life they will say, “I want to be happy.” There is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness has to do with all of the circumstances of life going well. We want the rain to stop and the sun to shine; we want the temperature to hit 80 degrees, the kids to be cheerful, the dog to obey us, and a lot of money in our pocket. That is the world’s definition of happiness. But joy is much deeper. Joy can be experienced even when the circumstances of life are not favorable. In Hezekiah’s day they experienced GREAT joy in Jerusalem. How they experienced it deserves a closer look. It started with a king who did not walk in the pathways of his ancestors. This king wanted to please God more than please man. He then opened with word of God and discovered that God wanted the nation to celebrate a Passover every year. So in simple obedience he arranged for the people to fulfill this command of God. And herein lies the secret to “Joy.” Joy is simply obeying God. When we obey the word of God we always arrive at joy.
On this Fourth of July obey God and discover joy.
Psalm 97:11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.
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