All in Joy
Did you wake up happy today? Did you enter into your prayer closet with joy, or do you feel like you should be eternally solemn before God? On Sundays do we enter into the sanctuary with a stern disposition, and worship God with a pompous air? Do the circumstances in our lives seek to crush our spirit? God gives us many things but of them He most certainly wants us to receive His joy, and yes, happiness!
Do we claim the joy of our faith? Do we claim it even when things aren’t going well? The church is filled on Sunday with joy, and singing, but so often we see those same saints on Monday morning with sad faces, somber, and with the look of a mourner. Reentering our day to day life is no reason to abandon the joy we know in Jesus, or the hope we have in our faith. Have we become on again/off again Christians, and what message does that deliver to those around us... and to God?
Are we working so hard at getting through our daily life that we miss the beauty and happiness swirling around us? What about in our faith? Are we so busy minding our religion, and the other things in life, that the joy of faith escapes us, and the rejoicing seems to be for others, but not for us? My friends, don’t let Satan rob you of the inexplicable joy that is rightfully yours, and the glory we find at its heart. He will attempt to refocus your attention so completely on the mundane duties of church life, that you will miss the fruit of faith, and your relationship with God.
Sometimes we get absorbed in the trials and tribulations of the world’s daily life, so much so that we not only miss the fullness of joy that comes with our faith, but we almost refuse to allow ourselves the slightest pleasure of it. Have you ever been so convinced of your misery, or perhaps in the fact that you are undeserving of happiness, that you won’t allow yourself to feel the inexplicable joy of faith? Well, you are meant to be joyous, meant to be filled with the glory of God, and to experience the Peace of Christ.
Christmas Day is just three mornings away, and for most people, the thought of its coming is joyous, and exhilarating, but for others a dark mystery is unfolding. For some a sense of depression sets in during the Christmas season, and for a few of these, it will be so intense that they will be inclined to take their own lives. Depression is a disease, but like all illnesses God can heal it... His strength can bring us through this dirge, and restore our joy. Do you need God’s healing strength this year?
We are in the midst of the Christmas season, and there is a great deal of hustle and bustle that goes along with it... are you stressed? Do all of the parties, family obligations, the gift buying, wrapping gifts, and putting up of decorations wear you down to the point where you long for the season to come to an end? Well, if that is true then you, like the secular world, have lost the truth in Christmas, the coming of Jesus; the arrival of the Christ Child. He didn’t come to burden us, but to redeem us, and give us rest, peace, and joy.
Sometimes we feel trapped in our sins, and unable to escape the everyday miseries of life, but it doesn’t have to be that way. By listening to the words of Jesus, and feeling His healing touch upon our bodies, we can be returned to a life of spiritual and physical freedom, and joy. We can be made whole by Christ, and by an awakening of the Holy Spirit.
How do we live out our lives, are we bitter, and often unhappy, or does the peace and joy of Jesus flow through, and from us? As Christians we should seek Christ in each hard time that confronts us, and not allow those who would separate us from the joy of God to have dominion over us by baiting us into seeking vengeance against them, or by withholding forgiveness from them.
We are filled in our faith with the joy of God, which is a different Greek word (Chara), with a different meaning than happiness (Makarios). Joy is an internal feeling, while happiness is derived from external events acting on our lives. Joy is deep seated, while happiness is superficial. Seeking the joy of God means seeking our transformation in Christ, and receiving God’s joy as a result.
Are we happy in our service of God? Does His Son Jesus give us delight as we go about our days? The world can bring us sorrow and unhappiness, but when we turn, or return, to the Lord, and concentrate on His righteousness, we are immediately filled with His peace and joy. God gives reason for all the earth to rejoice in Him.
Do you lean on God’s promises for your hope? Does His Word not only give you hope, but does it allow you to live abundantly again? Sometimes our hopelessness becomes a millstone around our neck, and it is so burdensome that to go on living seems futile, but even in such drastic times we can find hope and relief in the Word of God, and certain joy in His promises.
When we suffer it is natural to want that pain to be gone. Some, in the midst of their travail, will ask the Lord to remove that burden from them, and even question His motive, or goodness. They say “Why would a God of mercy and love do such a thing to us? Why would Jesus tell us to take up our cross?”, and their experience with suffering and death shakes their faith. Yet we are meant to suffer alongside Jesus, and the cross we bear leaves a crimson stain across our backs... His. This is our mark of faith, and promise of eternal glory.
Are you sorrowful, feeling the many pains of life, or otherwise suffering today? Well be of good cheer because a time is coming soon when the tears of your eyes will be dried forever by God Himself, and you will be led by Jesus Christ to founts of living water. For we as Christians the agony of the world is only temporary, but our joy in being with God is eternal.
Are you filled with the joy that only Jesus and God can give you? Even in those times when you suffer or mourn is there an underlying joy that others see in how you approach those things? When we have grasped the gospel of Jesus Christ, and brought God into our hearts as Lord and Master, joy bubbles up in us like a flood. This is the mark of our faith, and is easily seen by those around us. Have you received that seal of joy?
Do we abide in Jesus Christ? This is an incredibly powerful question, and our answer to it determines much. This is the condition that is placed on one of the most sought after promises in the Bible... answered prayer, and it is also linked to other promises such as the love of God, and joy. So how do you approach Jesus? Is Christ abiding in you, or just a visitor?