Advent 3 Wednesday – Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

and what is coming because we hold our faith in God’s goodness steady, trusting in Jesus’ coming back to earth for us so we can live with Him forever in heaven.  Listen to these amazing words:

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-9

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Heavenly Father, we are filled with joy today when we reflect on the fact that sin and death have no power over us when we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.  He rose again from the dead to show us that Your power of life over death is complete.  We do not need to fear though we may have troubles in this life and even physically die to this life as we know it, You have prepared a new body for us, a new heaven, and a new earth for us to live in.  You are keeping an amazing inheritance ready for us.  We do have every reason to be filled with joy today.

Give us grace to go through whatever trials we may face today, whatever griefs we many need to bear.  Help us to trust You to work in us to  simply reveal that our faith in You is genuine.

Would you find praise and glory and honor in how we let Jesus be revealed in our thoughts, words, and actions today. 

We thank you that though we don’t yet see Jesus as we will when he comes again in glory, we can lean on Him and trust in Him.  Fill us again with the inexpressible and glorious joy that You promise for those of us who hold on to You in faith.  Amen