Luke 6:23 says, “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”
Leaping for joy demonstrates faith. The night can be dark and long, but in the morning light, things look much different. The present darkness cannot last long. Paul and Silas singing in prison (Acts 16:25), brought on the miraculous conversion of the jailor and his house. The prison turned into a preaching opportunity. When the magistrates sent word to let them go, Paul invited them to come in and fetch them out. In fear, they came in and besought them to come out and get out of the city.
Jesus is calling for this leap for joy when we are misunderstood and rejected. Luke 6:22 states, “Blessed (or happy), are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” With this calling to leap for joy, He immediately says that you have a great reward in heaven. It is only natural, when someone comes at you like a bear, to lose your self-control and argue, or defend your side of the story. When someone casts your name out as evil, you may only get one shot to leap for joy.
“One of the largest grizzlies ever recorded was killed in 1953 with a single shot from a .22 rifle wielded by a 63-year-old grandmother in Canada” (Cowboy State Daily, August 4, 2024). This bear turned out to be a world-record trophy that lasted for a long time. It wasn’t a lucky shot. It didn’t take a great aim. It was a survival shot by a little lady, Bella Twin, who remained calm and used her head. As the bear was right in her face and growling, she simply stuck the gun in its mouth and fired. Not only did this grandmother survive, but she was able to leap for joy for years as the holder of this great record. It made me leap for joy just reading about it.
Leaping for joy in the face of persecution (Matthew 5:11-12), is easier said than done. This was a challenge the prophets also faced. Jeremiah was actually the son of a priest (Jeremiah 1:1). In the rest of the chapter we see that he was called as a child. He was to deliver a hard message. He would not be received. He was told to not be afraid of their faces. Jeremiah 1:10 states, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” Jeremiah did pretty good until chapter 15 verse 10: “Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.” In verse 15 he asks God to take revenge on his persecutors. In verse 17 he says that God has filled him with indignation.
God answers Jeremiah in chapter 15, verses 19-21. He gives him a couple of conditions to meet. The first is to return to Him. The second is to separate the precious from the vile in his life. Then God would re-commission him and make him stronger, like a brass wall. They would still come against him, but God would take care of him. Persecutions? Yes. Darkness? Yes. Be calm, it is our chance to leap in the dark!
