Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, through now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith...Faith has a beginning and faith has an end. Joy unspeakable and full of glory is the bridge between believing and receiving. Psalm 2 says that in the midst of adversity, God sits in the heavens and laughs. The Bible says the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). The Kingdom of God is the realm of God; the place where God rules and reigns. If you want the Kingdom of God to break loose in your life, then joy is the supernatural battle strategy. Get full of joy and the dominion of God will breakout. Healing and blessing will break out. You cannot have joy and be unhappy. One thing abut it, I don't think the devil can hang around happy people. The faster you get happy, the faster the devil is out!
(1 Peter 1:8-9)
...you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy. [At the same time] you receive the result (outcome, consummation) of your faith...Laughing At Impossibilities
(1 Peter 1:8-9 AMP)
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.In Genesis 21, we find the story of Abraham and Sarah receiving a promise from God. They were old and well-stricken in age but God promised them a son in order to establish His eternal covenant. God told Abraham that He was going to bless Sarah. He said,
(Gen. 21:6)
I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her...How did Sarah receive strength to conceive? She laughed and received strength for her miracle. She judged Him faithful that promised. She knew that what God had promised He was able to perform. Through faith she received strength. She said "God made me laugh."
(Gen. 17:16)
Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
(Heb. 11:11)
The only thing most people think about is the conception. In other words, they can only think about the baby or the miracle. The Holy Ghost is not just interested in the miracle, He's interested in you receiving strength. When the Word hits your spirit, there can be conception and you can give birth to your miracle. Smith Wigglesworth said, "Faith laughs at impossibilities." Sarah first laughed in unbelief, but at some point she must have started laughing in faith. She must have said, "I'm not the performer; I'm just the believer." Sarah and Abraham then named their miracle "ha, ha." They named him Isaac, which means "laughter."
Supernatural Joy
Happy is the people that know well the shout of praise, that lives, Lord, in the smile of thy protection!The people that know the joyful sound are the ones who get into the presence of God and walk in the light of His countenance. This joy is not dependent on how much money you have in the bank or who likes you; it is supernatural. It comes from heaven. It comes from God. God has this joy in Him and as believers, the same joy is in us.
(Ps. 89:15 Knox)
So how do you demonstrate this supernatural joy? You demonstrate it by rejoicing , smiling, and laughing. I believe joy irritates the devil. He hangs out in places of depression, grief, and sorrow. But where there is joy, the presence and glory of God will come in and run the devil off!
Receiving The End Of Your Faith
The bridge from the believing to receiving is joy unspeakable. Many people never receive their miracle because they never get happy enough to believe, "I have it right now; it's mine." 1 Peter 1:9 says, "Receiving the end of your faith..." One translation says, "the outcome of your faith." Your faith has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the middle of a faith fight, you have to tell the devil how it is going to turn out. Jesus the the Author and Finisher of your faith. Your situation may look bad right now, but everything is going to turn out alright!
Believing And Rejoicing
And Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.You are not the performer; you are just the believer. There is no pressure on you whatsoever to perform that thing that God has spoken to you. You do not have to try to make it happen. The only pressure on you is to keep the switch of faith turned on. You do that by believing, speaking, and acting like the Bible is true. Rejoice that what God has promised, He is also able to perform. When you begin rejoicing, laughing, and shouting by faith, something happens in the spirit realm and the glory finds a place to land!
(Luke 1:45)
Source: Let the Good Times Roll, Joy: The Bridge Between Believing And Receiving
by Mark Hankins.
Excerpt permission granted by MHM Publications