Joy Unspeakable

…you should want the pure and simple teaching.  By it you can mature in your salvation…I Peter 2:2 (NCV)

Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  II Corinthians 5:5

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy… I Peter 1:8

Let’s not mince words.  God calls us to greater maturity in our faith.  He wants us to know Him more completely, to step through doors of spiritual discovery into ever greater depths of relationship with Him.   His Word is power-packed with bold statements of certainty given us as His rock-solid promises.  They are there for us as His sons and daughters to be anchors and bedrock foundations of truth that crush the uncertainties and lies of the world.   As believers and followers of Christ, through Him our salvation is won and guaranteed by God Himself through the Holy Spirit.  Our faith in this promise, authored by God and delivered by Christ is the passage-way to true life. Salvation is ours to be claimed with no doubts!  Our salvation is protected, delivered, fool-proof, given.  As different versions of I Peter 1:8 describe, our response to this is “inexpressible joy”, “joy unspeakable”, “joy that cannot be explained”, “a joy full of glory”, “a joy words cannot express”, “a joy with a hint of the glories of heaven”, “a wonderful and heavenly joy that cannot be explained”, “a glorious joy that is too much for words”.   We accept with faith the gift He promises which is too wonderful to ever describe in human ways.  This shapes us and transforms us into a new creation.  We move on to “meat” and not just “milk” in our lives as followers of Christ.  Our old selves are gone, no longer worried with the things of this life or our former way of living.  All we want is to please our Father.  We obey because of His incredible, never-ending love.  Our lives are purified by Him and our perspective of ourselves and others has changed.  We “love to a fault” and show mercy over being religious. As our loving, compassionate Father sees us, we see the sick, the hurting, the marginalized, and the unlovable through His eyes. Just as He is patient, compassionate, and forgiving to us, demonstrated over and over again, we too share this kind of love with all around us regardless of who they may be. Our hearts, our minds, and our eyes are fixed on Him.  Earthly things have lost their hold on us. The riches the world offers pales in comparison to the inheritance waiting for us.  All the pain and suffering the world doles out is insignificant as we know our lives are not here.  We are holy in response to His holiness.  We seek and follow His Spirit's leading and we understand and see more clearly.  We listen for God’s voice, we hear Him, and we recognize His voice as the truth we all seek in our lives.  We know our life here is a temporary waiting place. It is a place where our physical limitations combined with the spiritual tastes of His glory stir within us deep yearnings hard to explain, and only satisfied beyond this life. 

May we truly seek these things.  May we truly reach ever greater planes of relationship with You, of understanding how incredible You are, and of realizing the power You offer in our lives. May we receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation from You to know You. May our trust in You be so strong, so complete, with no doubts or reservations that we experience the euphoric, indescribable joy of Your salvation.   

In the name of Christ our Savior.

Scotty Elston

Shallowater, Texas