Oil of Gladness

 

“You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows” (Heb 1:9). NKJV

You loved justice and hated evil, and so I, your God, have chosen you. I appointed you and made you happier than any of your friends.  CEV 

 There is a joy in the spirit that those who do not walk in holiness and intimacy with God can never experience. It is bliss that is deeper than laughing in the spirit (as it is called). The latter is a temporary, transient uplifting experience emanating from a punctual revelation of victory (in its global sense); the former is joy unspeakable, that is there even in the midst of trouble, needs no stimulus, and overwhelms the heart even in total silence. Yeah, this joy doesn't need noise or laughter - though it always (more or less) eventually produces it. Tears might be rolling down your cheeks but this joy is still there. It is joy that emanates from the experience of a holy and profound union with God, because this is the place (experiential union with God) where all revelations are constant and transcend the realm of emotions.

Though this verse talks about Christ, we know that it also applies to Christians. The CEV puts it in a way that I find particularly interesting: it reads “I appointed you and made you happier than your friends”. Really, some Christians are happier than others; not because they have more money, nicer cars and finer houses, but because they have this joy that comes from knowing God and walking in his ways.

It is that joy that keeps you happy even when you haven't yet received in the physical the object of your faith.

That is the joy Jesus had while on earth and which enabled him to endure all things. Many of us can't endure anything, for lack of this joy, which betrays our lack of intimacy with God. People who are really intimate with God and put his Word in practice (I am not talking about giants of the faith – just Christians living the normal Christian life) are always happier than the rest, even when they weep for burden for the lost or hurting souls, or when things are not moving the way they expect them to, for this joy easily cohabits with and transcends all natural circumstances.