John 10:10
Jesus lived and died so that we can experience abundant life, a life that overflows with joy, a life so full that others crave to know the source of that fullness. Jesus did not come so that we can merely survive life. Pagans can survive life. Jesus came to be our joy.
I used to sing this little chorus in Sunday School: "Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart for the KING is in residence there." WoW!! If that is true, then why are so many living lives with little or no joy? I'm afraid that we have bought the lies of the enemy, allowing him to steal our joy. Discouragement, weariness, disillusionment, shattered dreams and unrealized goals are some of his favorite weapons to rob joy, but the truth is that the enemy can only use what we allow him to use. It is time for us to reclaim surrendered ground. Do you sometimes think you are fighting the same old battles you have been fighting for years? I do at times. Clinging on to familiar pain, we find our identity there. Consumed with our own agenda, joy is buried under a mountain of self. Beloved, joy is not the result of outward circumstances. Joy is an inside job, a deeply rooted confidence that God is in control. Every trial or loss, every defeat or victory measured against this confidence can be counted as joy.
The Apostle Paul was a man of great joy. By human terms, he had every right to be angry and even bitter. Persecuted, imprisoned and facing His own death, Paul says,
"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". Philippians 4:12-13
The expression, "Have a good day" is a common greeting. I heard of someone, when told to have a good day, responded, "Thanks, but I have other plans." Sound familiar? We rise to face each day with a perspective of pending doom instead of the certain joy that is ours through Jesus Christ. God created the world in a process of one day at a time. At the end of each day, He examined his work and announced: "IT IS GOOD!" Beloved, we, too, can learn to see the good in each day; we can learn to be joyful.
Here are some things I’ve learnt while waiting on HIM…….
We need to check our hearts every waking day of our lives…..
" My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." Psalm 84:2
In this verse, "heart" literally means "body and soul" or "whole being." You’ve heard me say this before ‘what's down in the well comes up in the bucket’. Real joy is found in and flows from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is God's very presence in our lives is His eternal reminder that Jesus died on a cross, rose from the grave and is coming again. Your heart and life needs to be in total surrender to Jesus
Choose to rejoice……
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;" James 1:2
We cannot avoid pain but we can avoid joy. The pursuit of joy is a matter of CHOICE. Our inward perspective does not have to reflect our outward circumstances. We can choose joy!
Yes, the pursuit of joy is a matter of choice and perspective. It is also a matter of obedience. As Christians, one of our spiritual priorities should be joy.
"One ship sails east; one ship sails west.
Regardless of how the winds blow,
It is the set of the sail; and not the gale
That determines the way we go." (Author unknown)
Set your sails for joy, beloved!
Celebrate! Revel in who God is, in what He has done, is doing and will do in your life.
Psalm 16:11. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
There is no doubt about it beloved, ‘there is a connection between God's presence and a life of joy’
You were created for joy. I know that life can be painful but God's plan for an abundant life takes that pain into account.
blessings ~janet`
