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“Your word became to me / The gladness and joy of my heart”—Jer. 15:16b:
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Although Jeremiah suffered more than all the other prophets, he had gladness and joy in his heart whenever he found God’s words and ate them—v. 16.
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The word became in verse 16 indicates that gladness and joy are an issue of God’s words being eaten, digested, assimilated, and constituted into our inner being, causing the Lord’s joy to become our joy—John 15:7, 10-11:
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When we eat God’s words, His word becomes our heart’s gladness and joy—Jer. 15:16.
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After God’s words are taken into us and are assimilated into our inward parts, these words become joy within and gladness without.
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God is a God of joy, and He wants us to enjoy Him—Neh. 8:10; Psa. 36:8:
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A sweet thought revealed in the Word of God is that in Christ God has given Himself to us as grace to be our enjoyment—John 1:14, 16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14.
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In the first reference in the Bible to God’s relationship with man, God presented Himself to man as food; this shows that God’s desire is to give Himself to us to be our enjoyment—Gen. 2:7, 9; Psa. 16:11; Jer. 15:16.
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Romans 14:17 speaks of “joy in the Holy Spirit”:
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This verse indicates that the Spirit is related to joy; joy is an attribute of the Spirit—cf. 1 Thes. 1:6.
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Joy is also a fruit of the Spirit; the indwelling Spirit gives joy to the believers—Gal. 5:22.
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When we are in the Spirit, we are joyful, so joyful that we may sing and shout praises to the Lord—cf. Acts 16:25.
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We may “exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory”—1 Pet. 1:8:
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The joy full of glory is joy immersed in the Lord as glory; thus, it is full of the expression of God—Acts 7:2, 55; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3.
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We exult with a joy that is immersed in glory—1 Pet. 1:8.
Morning Nourishment
Jer. 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart…John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and…your joy may be made full.
1 Pet. 1:8 Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.
When Jeremiah found God’s words, he not only heard them, but he ate them as food [cf. Jer. 15:16]. After he ate God’s words, he was immediately supplied within and felt glad and joyful. When we eat the Lord’s words, we are spiritually refreshed. There is not one book in the world that has the ability to supply life. Only the Bible has such an ability because the words in the Bible convey the Spirit, and God is embodied in the word. Many believers have been supplied by the word of God. The word of God not only has the ability to supply man but can also change him completely. Just as the food we eat sustains our life, makes us healthy, and changes our constitution, so also the word not only gladdens and satisfies us but also gradually transforms us to the Lord’s image. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 3, “How God Becomes Man’s Enjoyment,” p. 159)
Today’s Reading
If we do not know how to eat the word, how can we enjoy it? How can we have the gladness and joy in our heart for the word and with the word? We have to know how to eat the word. When we find the Lord’s words, we should not only know them but eat them, so that they become both the gladness and the joy. Gladness and joy imply singing; we have joy within and singing as our rejoicing without. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, “Practical Lessons on the Experience of Life,” p. 491)The prayer of the sister who asked for patience was wrong because patience was the subject of her prayer. All genuine prayers have God as the subject. There is no need to be concerned with patience. We should simply spend time every day to contact God and to fellowship with Him. The more we enjoy Him, the more we will be filled with Him….Every situation will issue in joy because the God of joy fills our heart. We can endure everything joyfully, and nothing will trouble or irritate us. Inwardly, we will be watered and filled with joy….Patience comes from the God whom we enjoy. As we absorb Him and enjoy Him, He becomes our patience, our life, and our inward constituent. We will be inwardly watered, satisfied, and cheered….This is the wonder of the Christian life. (CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “How to Enjoy God and How to Practice the Enjoyment of God,” pp. 381-382)
Romans 14:17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” This verse indicates that the Spirit is related to joy. When we are in the Spirit, we are joyful, so joyful that we may shout praises to the Lord. At times we may be beside ourselves with joy, and praises spontaneously flow out from within us. (Life-study of Romans, p. 584)
[According to 1 Peter 1:8] we love Him whom we have not seen because of believing, because of the very faith which has been infused into us through hearing the living word (Gal. 3:2)…[and] the believers exult with unspeakable and glorified joy. Glorified joy is joy immersed in glory; hence, it is full of glory, that is, full of the Lord expressed….[Peter] speaks of a glorified joy. We exult with a joy that is immersed in glory. This joy is immersed in the Lord as glory; thus, it is full of the expression of the Lord. (Life-study of 1 Peter, p. 50)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “How to Enjoy God and How to Practice the Enjoyment of God,” chs. 2, 6-7, 10-11, 13; Life-study of 1 Peter, msg. 6; CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, “Practical Lessons on the Experience of Life,” ch. 13; CWWL, 1958, vol. 2, p. 29