The Good Medicine of Joy - Devotionals - Ligonier Ministries

"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Even those who are not very familiar with the Bible are likely ... EventhosewhoarenotveryfamiliarwiththeBiblearelikelyfamiliarwiththefirsthalfoftheproverbintoday'sstudy,ortheyatleasthavesomeunderstandingofthetruthitpresents.Afterall,onecanhardlylistentothenewsforafewweekswithouthearingofsomeresearchdemonstratingthedangersofstressonthebodyorastudyprovidingevidencethatcheerfulpeoplelivelongerthanthosewhoareperpetuallygrumpyorunhappy. SuchresearchonlyconfirmswhatGod'speoplehaveknownforcenturies,that"ajoyfulheartisgoodmedicine"(Prov.17:22).Therearesalutarybenefitsforthosewhohavejoyintheirlives.Thisproverbisnottalkingaboutfrivolity,anditisnotcommendinganattitudethatrejoicesbecauseitignoresthedifficultcircumstancesoflife.Instead,asMatthewHenrycomments,theproverb"meansaheartrejoicinginGod,andservinghimwithgladness,andthentakingthecomfortofoutwardenjoymentsandparticularlythatofpleasantconversation."ThejoythatisgoodforthesoulandthebodyisthejoythatwefindfirstintheLordandtheninthesimplepleasuresthatHehascreatedforhumanbeings.Ecclesiastes,forexample,isfilledwithadmonitionstotakejoyintheordinarygoodnessofthecreatedorder—thesatisfactionofaheartypieceofbread,thetasteofaniceglassofwine(Eccl.9:7).Overandoveragain,thebookofPsalmsexhortsustorejoiceintheLord(Pss.32:11;53:6).WerejoiceintheLordandinthegoodnessofwhatHehasmadeinordertobringHimglory,ofcourse(1Cor.10:31),buttoday'spassageindicatesthatHisgloryisnotallthatresultsfromthecheerfulheartsofHispeople.OurjoyglorifiesGodanditbenefitsus.ByHisgrace,theLordhasordainedthatwhatglorifiesHimiswhatisgoodforus. Theoppositeofacheerfulheartisa"crushedspirit"that"driesupthebones"(Prov.17:22).Here,"bones"isusedtorepresentthewholeperson.Acheerfulheartbringstremendousbenefitstoallthatweare,andabrokenspiritbringsharmtothewholeperson.Thecrushedspiritthatdriesupthebonesisnotthebrokenspiritofrepentance(Ps.51:17),forrepentancerestoresustotheLordandtherebyisameanstolife.Instead,thewriterreferstotheheartthatcannotrejoiceintheLord,thathasbecomesocynicalthatitcannotfindjoyinthesimplethings.Maynoneofuspossesssuchaheart.CoramDeoAcheerfulheartdoesnotpretendthatalliswell,anditgrievesattheappropriatetime(Eccl.7:2).Acheerfulheartrespondsappropriatelytoagivensituation,allthewhilepossessingadeepandenduringpeacethatenablesonetotrustintheLordandknowthatHeisthesourceoftrue,eternaljoy.Acheerfulheartmaynotalwaysshowitselfwithasmile,butevenwhenitisnotinhappycircumstances,itisconfidentthataneternalweightofgloryisbeingpreparedforus(2Cor.4:17).ForFurtherStudyPsalm30:5Ecclesiastes8:15Isaiah12:33John1:4Hannah'sPerseverance1Samuel1:1–28APrayerforDeliverancePsalm6:1–10OriginallypublishedinTabletalk,ourdailyBiblestudymagazine.LearnMore‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌