RIPPLES OF REJOICING

June 17, 2022

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shoutH7321 unto God with a voice of triumphH7440. God has ascended amid shouts of joyH8643, the LORD with the sound of the horn. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is King of all the earth; sing profound praises to Him.

Psalm 47:1, 5-7

Our cry of gladness and victory should reverberate or ripple throughout everything. Our entire being has the capacity to erupt in exuberant praise. This is a portrait of the intimate interaction between Jesus and His bride. We actively participate in demonstrating our love with our heart, mind, body, and soul. This is a shout from the rooftops like a blast of a trumpet with waves of sound carrying for miles. We are going to the mountaintops and declaring our affection for the Lord because of His triumph over sin and death. The next few verses of this psalm explore God’s sovereignty, His power, and His authority to shape our destinies. He purposed in His heart to shape the destinies of His children as far back as creation. He decided our purposes and our ability to emit ripples of joy and praise before our conception:

Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.  For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

We can rejoice through difficulties because even in the trying times, we see God’s formation of the paths of purpose. If God gave His most excellent treasure—His only begotten Son Jesus—to live, love, and die for us, then how much more will He provide for us all that we require to live joyously for Him? (Romans 8:31-32). Find your God-given passion and live it out as a vessel for the Lord’s use. The Lord will create a wave of joy that expands outwardly from you as you serve Him faithfully. The ripples of our rejoicing should spread out to bless all who come into the sphere of our influence.

Father, may our joy be contagious! Help us to radiate the joy of the Lord like ripples on top of the water spreading exponentially.