God doesn't ask us to rejoice over nothing; He gives us ground for our
joy. What would you think of a man who seemed very happy to-day and
full of joy, and couldn't tell you what made him so? Suppose I should
meet a man on the street, and he was so full of joy that he should get
hold of both my hands and say:
"Bless the Lord, I am so full of joy!"
"What makes you so full of joy?"
"Well, I don't know."
"You don't know!"
"No, I don't; but I am so joyful that I just want to get out of the
flesh."
"What makes you feel so joyful?"
"Well, I don't know."
Would we not think such a person unreasonable? But there are a great
many people who want to feel that they are Christians before they are
Christians; they want the Christian's experience before they become
Christians; they want to have the joy of the Lord before they receive
Jesus Christ. But this is not the Gospel order. He brings joy when He
comes, and we cannot have joy apart from Him. He is the author of it,
and we find our joy in Him.