You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith — the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8,9 NET)
Isn’t it amazing how we who believe, are absolutely sure that Jesus lived on earth, died, and rose again over 2000 years ago, even though we were not there to see it? Many have never been to Jerusalem, to see the Upper Room where the last supper was held, the hill where He was crucified, or the tomb where He was buried, yet are certain that those things occurred just like the Bible says. Ordinarily we only believe what we see and touch. Yet when it comes to faith, an important spiritual law comes into play — we become certain of what we do not yet see.
Many wish they could have lived when Jesus was on earth, to have actually touched Him and heard Him speak. But John 20 says that people who believe in Him, though they have not seen Him, are more blessed that those who believed because they saw Him. Intrinsic to faith is the ability to be sure of something before it has come to pass, only because God has promised, because it’s His nature to do such things. It’s not wise to wish we had lived in another time and had other opportunities. God in His wisdom decided to have us live at this very moment. We need to accept that and be determined to make a difference now. To have never seen Jesus and yet believe only makes us more blessed — our faith is of a purer quality because we don’t depend on what we have seen.
Do you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy? Are you filled with joy when you think about how you’re saved and bound for heaven? Do you even think about heaven? When we do think about heaven and the blessings that are waiting for us, we receive strength and courage to fight against problems and the devil. Those who don’t spend time meditating on their salvation are not listening to the Holy Spirit, and may not be as spiritually mature as they think they are. They are living dangerously. This indescribable and glorious joy about our salvation is what Paul means when he mentions salvation as part of the armor of God — our helmet. Meditating about it protects our head, our thoughts from the devil and sin, and helps us to keep perspective in this confusing world. This joy is not automatic, we have to choose to experience it, to focus our thoughts on it. And when we do, we become strong.
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