Full of joy

Luke 10:21 Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

This prayer of Jesus makes me feel “weepy” as I consider the delight He had in His spirit over watching His disciples and listening to their excited accounts of how God had blessed their ministries as they had gone out two-by-two.  He was full of joy, this verse says, and I see a couple sources of that joy:

            1. He had joy because the disciples were so excited over their ministry;

            2. He had joy because God had been willing to use such simple men for His purposes;

            3. He had joy because the disciples had grown so much in their knowledge and understanding of spiritual things.

This encourages me because I can picture His joy over me when I grow spiritually as well.