Gladness in God
WRITER: Phil Bray POSTED: October 31, 2024
“You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence” (Acts 2:28). The instrument by which God gladdens the heart of his people is His presence. His presence in our lives is what gladdens our hearts! Our abundant gladness is the act of God, the work of God in our lives. The means by which he fills us up to overflowing with gladness is by drawing near to us. God is who makes us glad. It is not the gifts of God. It is God Himself.
The implication of this amazing reality is that sin steals gladness, rather than imparts it. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Sin separates us from God. Sin drags us away from God, the one who makes us glad by his sheer presence and proximity. The enemy is a liar my friend. The temptation lingers like an alluring scent upon the wind. “Joy, happiness, contentment is found in indulging yourself, in practicing what God has forbidden, in living according your will instead of God’s,” the liar whispers. God forbids sin because God loves you! God forbids sin because sin draws you further from Him who makes you glad! The enemy whispers that sin will warm the heart with gladness while pulling you away from the fire of God’s presence into the arctic wasteland of ice and snow.
Draw near to God if you would be glad! “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7). How? James explains, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts you double minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:8-10). We draw near to God by killing sin. We draw near to God by cleansing our hearts and hands of sinful motives, desires, and acts. We draw near to God by purging the sin from our lives. We repent and mourn over the sin that so easily entangles us. We humble ourselves as sinners in need of grace, longing for mercy and transformation. Those are the ones God exalts and draws into His embrace!
As we draw near to God through a repudiation of sin in humble obedience to God we are filled with an increasing warmth of gladness that comes from the furnace of glory, God’s very presence. Sin is the very saboteur of gladness, not the giver of it. Holiness is not the enemy of joy - it is the pathway to unmitigated gladness in God!
The implication of this amazing reality is that sin steals gladness, rather than imparts it. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Sin separates us from God. Sin drags us away from God, the one who makes us glad by his sheer presence and proximity. The enemy is a liar my friend. The temptation lingers like an alluring scent upon the wind. “Joy, happiness, contentment is found in indulging yourself, in practicing what God has forbidden, in living according your will instead of God’s,” the liar whispers. God forbids sin because God loves you! God forbids sin because sin draws you further from Him who makes you glad! The enemy whispers that sin will warm the heart with gladness while pulling you away from the fire of God’s presence into the arctic wasteland of ice and snow.
Draw near to God if you would be glad! “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7). How? James explains, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts you double minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:8-10). We draw near to God by killing sin. We draw near to God by cleansing our hearts and hands of sinful motives, desires, and acts. We draw near to God by purging the sin from our lives. We repent and mourn over the sin that so easily entangles us. We humble ourselves as sinners in need of grace, longing for mercy and transformation. Those are the ones God exalts and draws into His embrace!
As we draw near to God through a repudiation of sin in humble obedience to God we are filled with an increasing warmth of gladness that comes from the furnace of glory, God’s very presence. Sin is the very saboteur of gladness, not the giver of it. Holiness is not the enemy of joy - it is the pathway to unmitigated gladness in God!