All tagged 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!
When we accept God as our Father, and Jesus as His Son, and our Savior, we struggle and suffer immensely in our newly found life. During these early days we are tempted and challenged; in them we have to determine whether we will go forward in our faith... or not. Suffering for our faith is not a punishment for the believer, but hardens us like cold water tempers iron, and sets in us the image of Christ.
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.
Is Jesus the Christ to you? Are you so convinced of this fact that there is no other option for you except to follow Him, or face death? Does Jesus represent the singular truth and the one real way to joy, eternity, and an eternal relationship with God? Does He bring you some promised future life, or do you find a joyous life In Him now? So I say all of this to ask you one question... if Jesus is the Messiah, and He has promised you abundant, and eternal life, doesn’t that abundance, and eternity, begin for you the moment your faith in Him is sealed?
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.
Do you love those around you? Do you exude a spirit of love that others can feel, and see when they approach you? If you are a hard person and bitter towards others it is time to let Jesus transform you, and become more like God the Father because love is the essence of God. Do you know the nature of God, and is it obvious on your face, and in your spiritual eyes?
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.
We talk about our treasure as being accumulated in heaven, and we also speak of our mansion there, as well as the storehouses, but do we ever stop to think about where all of the hard labor is done in building these structures, mining the gold, or cutting those gems, and how it was accomplished?
When you worship are you joyous, and lifted up, or do you approach the throne off God in tears, and sadness? When you sing hymns are they morose, or do they reflect the immense pleasure, and majesty you find in God? Being humble before God does not imply a lack of joy, it actually frees us to rejoice in Him, because we realize who He is, and that we are His children... His minions.