I recently had a thought-provoking dream that has left me pondering about joy, and more specifically, the joy we receive because God dwells with us. In the dream, I was discussing some hardships I was experiencing with a dear friend of mine. She basically said that the 'secret ingredient' to these hardships is joy. She then (still in the dream) proceeded to point me towards a Bible on her lap to continue to encourage me. The scripture was faint in the dream, but when I woke up, all I had on my mind was Psalm 48:2. Joy is often defined as a deep contentment and happiness regardless of circumstances. The reason circumstances of our lives do not factor into possessing or experiencing joy is because true joy comes from God dwelling within us. As believers, 'God with us' is eternal and not based on what is happening around us because what is happening around us cannot shake or remove God dwelling within us. We are secure, we are cared for, we are unbelievably loved…eternally. Psalm 48 is a psalm about "Zion, the City of our God." Verse 2 describes Zion as "beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth … the city of the great King." Zion is called the joy of "all the earth" because of who dwells there. And because of that, the earth can feel joy. The magnitude of Zion is not the city itself, but the One dwelling there that makes the city beautiful.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE1OTA3Ng==