Rejoice, Hope and Trust

I love these three commands in the Bible.

Rejoice in the LORD.
Where does your joy come from? What does your joy depend on? I love in the War Room dvd, how Elizabeth Jordan says, "My joy doesn't come from my friends, it doesn't come from my job, it doesn't even come from my husband. My joy is found in Jesus...."
We may have reason to be upset sometimes, but we can always have joy, because God is always good. When I get discouraged or sad for one reason or another, that phrase comes into mind, "My joy doesn't come from ... My joy is found in Jesus." We can take our burdens to God in prayer and have joy. We may not always be able to have a smile on our face, but we can always have joy in God.

Hope in the LORD.
What is your hope in?  What makes you despair?
I heard a sermon on hope awhile back, and the preacher said, "We sing, My hope is in the Lord, but our lives say, My hope is in my job, marriage, church, money, home, things etc." You fill in the blanks. If our hope is in these things, we can lose our hope because these things can disappear or fail us. Jesus is the only Person who can't fail us. If we know Him, we can always have hope for now and the future.

Trust in the LORD.
What is your trust in? What are you depending on for your salvation? What are you trusting in for your every day needs? What are you trusting in for strength and help each day? We can so easily trust in everything apart from God. And yet it is only God who can save us, and give us true help with our problems and needs.