Always Rejoicing

Johan O. Smith signed a number of his letters with: “Greet­ings from your always rejoicing brother, Johan O. Smith.” That is just how it is when you are seated in heaven! We need a Word of God to hold onto that is able to divide between joints and marrow—the strength of man. The thoughts and intents of the heart must be revealed. We can come to a rest that is only attainable for those who have committed every­thing to God. All our work goes in this direction—into rest! We can go through a lot of pain, but we are set free and enter into a heavenly life. We can live in this salvation right from our youth and still be longing for more in our old age. By faith we enter into rest, and from youth to old age we can be an “always rejoicing” brother! That’s the way it will be as long as our joy is in God.

“But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” Prov. 4:18. Our path must always be shining and constantly increasing in clarity. That’s how it is when we live before the throne of grace. There we see how great our High Priest is, and we hold fast to our con­fession. Most people’s confession is only forgiveness of sins and help in earthly things. But we see that our High Priest is much, much greater than that. We must be transformed from being a soulish Christian to one who partakes of a spiritual life that is not in any way dependent on the changes in our soul. We must not swing when our soul swings. We must learn to live by the Word of God in our mind. Then we will have some­thing solid to hold on to in life. We will stand on the rock and have joy and peace in our situations. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” Ps. 125:1.