God's eternal joy
God has eternal joy. He suffers with us, but I dare to postulate that his suffering is a relative affection, while his joy is both an absolute (inherent to him) and a relative (in relation to the creation) affection. His joy is eternal and infinite. This does not make him distant from us or unattached, that he has eternal joy while we are moaning and groaning in this broken world. Rather, it is the spring of our hope.
First of all, his joy is moral. He rejoices in the good, in justice and righteousness. "I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord" (Jer. 9:24). His joy is in the good. He alone is the supreme good, and so it is for his glory. But we are the beneficiaries of his munificent goodness and glory.
His joy is teleological. Joy works for the good of what one loves. When something good happens to my sister, I rejoice in that becuase I love her and value her. So I like working for her good, bringing her little gifts, praying that summer internships work out becuase it brings me joy. And the all-powerful God has joy in bringing about the good of his people. How amazing! "Great is the LORD who delights in the welfare of his servant" (Ps. 35:27). And even when I go through sleepless nights and struggle with health, I know he is working for my good, he is still delighting in the welfare of his servant. He just defines it differently and has the larger picture in mind.
His joy is based on his omniscience. He knows what is ultimately good. While my definition of good may be "I want to feel well right now," he has a higher joy, a higher good for me. He has his glory in mind, which is where I will ultimately and eternally be most satisfied is in his glory. His joy is not frustrated by the events of this world, by the antagonism of North Korea, the Syrian crisis, by cancer, a job loss, by ill health, or a sleepless night. It is not to say he doesn't care and that in our affliction he is not afflicted also (Isa. 63:9), so great is the mystery of our covenant God who has bound himself to us. Yet, he sees the final, eschatological end and the joy that will come. We cannot weigh our current miseries with the eternal glory that awaits him and us (1 Cor. 4:17-18).
His joy is based on truth. He is not fooled. He knows what is truly good, what is truly valuable, what is truly the best. I may get my hopes up and feel joy at the prospect of a sunny day, only to find it is rainy. But he knows what is true.
Above all, his joy is based on his love. As already mentioned, joy is sparked by the perception (a true perception in his case) of good occuring to something one loves. He loves us. We give him joy. He delights in us and sings over us (Zeph. 3:17). It is his unchanging essence of love that springs forth in eternal joy. And in his sovereign, pure grace, only grace, he has set his love on us.
And is in his eternal joy we find our hope. We know we will participate in that eternal joy someday, a moral joy that is working for our good now, in every moment, based on his truth and omniscience and love. We will share that joy!
First of all, his joy is moral. He rejoices in the good, in justice and righteousness. "I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord" (Jer. 9:24). His joy is in the good. He alone is the supreme good, and so it is for his glory. But we are the beneficiaries of his munificent goodness and glory.
His joy is teleological. Joy works for the good of what one loves. When something good happens to my sister, I rejoice in that becuase I love her and value her. So I like working for her good, bringing her little gifts, praying that summer internships work out becuase it brings me joy. And the all-powerful God has joy in bringing about the good of his people. How amazing! "Great is the LORD who delights in the welfare of his servant" (Ps. 35:27). And even when I go through sleepless nights and struggle with health, I know he is working for my good, he is still delighting in the welfare of his servant. He just defines it differently and has the larger picture in mind.
His joy is based on his omniscience. He knows what is ultimately good. While my definition of good may be "I want to feel well right now," he has a higher joy, a higher good for me. He has his glory in mind, which is where I will ultimately and eternally be most satisfied is in his glory. His joy is not frustrated by the events of this world, by the antagonism of North Korea, the Syrian crisis, by cancer, a job loss, by ill health, or a sleepless night. It is not to say he doesn't care and that in our affliction he is not afflicted also (Isa. 63:9), so great is the mystery of our covenant God who has bound himself to us. Yet, he sees the final, eschatological end and the joy that will come. We cannot weigh our current miseries with the eternal glory that awaits him and us (1 Cor. 4:17-18).
His joy is based on truth. He is not fooled. He knows what is truly good, what is truly valuable, what is truly the best. I may get my hopes up and feel joy at the prospect of a sunny day, only to find it is rainy. But he knows what is true.
Above all, his joy is based on his love. As already mentioned, joy is sparked by the perception (a true perception in his case) of good occuring to something one loves. He loves us. We give him joy. He delights in us and sings over us (Zeph. 3:17). It is his unchanging essence of love that springs forth in eternal joy. And in his sovereign, pure grace, only grace, he has set his love on us.
And is in his eternal joy we find our hope. We know we will participate in that eternal joy someday, a moral joy that is working for our good now, in every moment, based on his truth and omniscience and love. We will share that joy!
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