Again I Say Rejoice

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Philippians 3:8-11

When I read the portions of the Bible that the apostle Paul wrote while imprisoned, it’s hard for me to comprehend.  Despite being locked up in a cell and in chains, Paul was able to “rejoice in the Lord always.”

When facing troubled times, it is not usually a natural instinct for us to focus on Christ.  If you are like me, you may focus on your problems and dwell on all that is going wrong in your life-even to the point of becoming anxious and overwhelmed with a sense of defeat in most circumstances. In lieu of my mother's passing, this has certainly been the case, but God has been with me and my family every step of the way and like Paul, I have been able to remain joyful despite my broken heart.  

The heart of a believer should not live in defeat as we must trust that God is in control and that He is good.  We must remain positive, knowing that He will provide for us and comfort us as He never breaks His promises.

Negative emotions are hard to deal with and can be consuming, but we must learn to seek comfort in the Lord so that we too can rejoice in the Lord always, no matter what hard times we are faced with!   

Steal My Sunshine

For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change. 

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is noting we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

Joy

The joy of the Lord is your strength!  Nehemiah 8:10

For the longest time, I wouldn't dare enter the doors of a church because I mistakenly thought that church-going folks didn't know how to enjoy themselves and live life.  Boy, I couldn't have been any more wrong!  Sure, there are some Christians that meticulously attempt to live their lives without sin (it’s impossible, by the way), and in many cases, with that comes the judgment of others and self-righteousness, but God created each of us to enjoy our time here on this earth.

Happiness is based on performance or on your set of circumstances.  Joy is what springs from God’s love; performance and circumstances don’t mean a thing.  When you realize how great God’s love is for you, you become less vulnerable to depression and despair over disappointments and problems.

The more you seek Him, find Him, love Him, and know Him, the more you become like Him, and the greater your joy will be.  You will find perfect and lasting joy in heaven, but you can experience joy right here and right now by walking with the Lord.

Contentment Blues

How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands.  Psalm 112:1

Happiness is a fleeting emotion that is based on our circumstances, while joyfulness is much deeper and comes from the assurance of knowing that God loves us.  For example, I received my new iPhone 5 last week; I was very happy about that.  Now I am realizing that I am going to need all kinds of new adapters for the redesigned iPhone and am a little annoyed. 

We need to remember that there is no passage of scripture where we are promised happiness in God’s Word.  However, God promises us something far greater-joy.  If you trust Him, and you know that the God of the universe loves you, and wants to have a relationship with you, and He has promised an eternal future for you, then you can be joyful too.

This kind of joy is not temporary and fleeting and runs much deeper than happiness, because it’s not based on your circumstances. How is your life characterized?  Is it by joy or happiness?

Joy

I will be filled with joy because of you.  I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:2

On my flight back from FL earlier this week, I picked up a copy of the USA Today and every headline I read was either serious or depressing.  It made me think about the aspects of Christian life-there are certain elements we view with appropriate seriousness, but far too often, we overlook the great delights and joy of being followers of Christ.   

Life moves at such a fast pace these days, we easily forget some of the simple things such as: the God of all of the universe loves us, has a plan for each of us, and created this wonderful world for you and I to live in.  God wants us to have a relationship with him and wants us to serve him enthusiastically and joyfully. 

God promises to fill us with the joy he delights to see in each one of his followers.  Praise be to God!