Do I find joy or does joy find me?
In other words, does my happiness and joy come from circumstances that come my way or do I experience peace by making a conscious decision to walk in joy?
Joy is a choice.
Many times we fall into a trap of complaining that our lives are sorrowful and depressing.
And life is hard.
Life is tough.
Where do we find joy?
Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck?
Are some people just flat out "snake-bit"?
Joy is a choice.
Two people can walk through the same negative circumstance, but one may choose to live it quite differently from the other.
One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, will bring about something good; growth in God, a closer relationship with Jesus, drawing closer to family and friends.
The other may choose despair and be destroyed.
What makes the difference? Freedom of choice.
Our Joy is found in Jesus Christ.
Christian author Brennan Manning calls us to examine the cause of our emotions:
To ascertain where you really are with the Lord, recall what saddened you the past month. Was it the realization that you do not love Jesus enough? That you did not seek his face in prayer often enough? That you did not care for his people enough? Or did you get depressed over a lack of respect, criticism from an authority figure, your finances, a lack of friends, fears about the future, or your bulging waistline?
Conversely, what gladdened you the past month? Reflection on your election to the Christian community? The joy of saying slowly, "Abba, Father"? The afternoon you stole away for two hours with only the gospel as your companion? A small victory over selfishness? Or were the sources of your joy a new car, a Brooks Brothers suit, a great date, great sex, a raise, or a loss of four inches from your waistline?
"Father, help me to choose joy today, and to choose it by reflecting on you."
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A search for truth and meaning in life
Total Pageviews
George
About Me
- George24
- A blog that describes the journey of a follower of Christ
my blog list
Acts: An exegetical commentary
- Acts: An exegetical commentary
Blog Archive
-
▼
2006
(171)
-
▼
March
(17)
- Finding joy
- Spiritual Courage
- Spiritual Warfare in an evil world
- Knowing God
- Spiritual language
- Leaders and those around them
- Spiritual laws: sowing and reaping.
- Describing God
- God's role in our joy; it starts in the morning!
- What's the line between tolerance and bigotry?
- Are you a pessimist or an optimist?
- Are you in the right job?
- Praying for Israel
- Finding joy
- Going from pondering to praying
- Being the best leader I can be.
- It's a matter of the heart
-
▼
March
(17)
3 comments:
This really may sound over the top to some people and maybe it is. Maybe I’m waaaay out in left field. No matter, this is how I choose to live my life in Christ. On any given day, I find myself being consumed with desire to know more, to experience more and communicate more, with and about my God, my Lord and my Savior. I don’t have a lot of outside interests. I’ve been told and admit that I don’t have a life, outside of Christ. There’s a lot of things that I like to do and there’s one thing, that I really like to do. That’s to be around people that love God and love to talk about Jesus. That is my joy! I thank God that my fishing partner is a Christian, because I get the best in life, all at once when we go fishing.
For the most part, our lives are mundane. When I look at all the great men and women of God, in the Bible, we’re seeing them in just short glimpses of their lives. When they weren’t being used mightily of God, guess what? They lived mundane lives just like us. I hear people say all the time, that they want to see a move of God in their lives, or in lives of their children, in their church or wherever. Well guess what? If you want to see a move of God, the only way your going to see it, is to be apart of it. We have to put ourselves, into a position to be used of God and then we will see a move of God through our own lives. I really get geeked (I never thought I’d use a word like that, but it expresses how I feel), when I hear about someone being healed or someone being delivered from a life controlling substance or lifestyle. God is moving He’s doing stuff in peoples lives. God desires to do great things in people’s lives everyday, every minute of the day. But, who will go? Me, me, me, use me, send me Lord! But, we’re all caught up in the mundane, the day to day grind of life. We’re beat down and beat up. We sometimes don’t know which end is up. There is no joy in living like that. God is saying to us in a still small voice, “I have someone with a need”, “I have something for YOOU to do”, Will you go? But with the loud music blaring, the world drawing us in every direction, we miss an opportunity to see God move in another individual’s life by our own hand. Yes, by your own hand. Why do you think He gave you two of them for? We miss the Joy. I don’t like to miss out. I don’t want to miss out. That’s why Joy is a choice. You can be where God is or where God wants you to be, or you can be doing something else and miss out. I love my T-Group, Sunday Mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday night, Thursday morning prayer (when I can go), did I say I loved T-Group? Yes, you probably figured it out by now, I’m freaked out on Jesus. Someday I’ll tell you why I’m this way. It might surprise you.
My Mom wasn’t a Christian until the last days of her life. She couldn’t understand why I was the way I was, and still am about my faith in Christ. She used to tell me that I would wear my welcome out with my friends, because we were always together everyday. Well, in the natural, that may be true. But in Christ, we have a friend that is closer than a brother. He will never leave us, or forsake us. After what He has done for me, I’m sticking to Him like glue. To have the joy, like God wants me to have, I can’t have a casual, relationship with Him. I know He wants all of me, so I want as much of Him as I can get. You can have as much of God as you want. Stop and think for a minute. Do I have all of God that I want? Do you think you have enough? If you don’t have joy in your life, I can tell you right now, you don’t have enough of Jesus. I still need more.
Here’s a thought for you who think you can stay at home and serve God. Jesus said that wherever two or more are gathered in his name, He will be in their midst. Husbands and wives only count as one. That’s one of God’s goofy math things. You are a vital part of His body. You are in need of the body, as much as being needed by the body of Christ. Why? So your joy may be full. There is no better way to get joy and keep your joy, than to be around Gods people and see Him work in their lives and yours. I hope you all fine the joy and peace that passes all understanding. See you at a gathering!
Good stuff Charlie. There's a story that goes like this: An old man is sitting by the side of the road halfway between two cities. He looks up to see a woman coming from the west. She stops and asks him, "Sir, do you know the city to the east? What kind of people are there?" He answers, "What kind of people did you have in the city to the west?" She says, "Oh, they were what I thought they'd be; rude and mean and nasty and corrupt. I didn't like it there." He says to her, "That's what you'll find in the city to the east as well." She goes on her way to the east and a little while longer, another lady approaches from the west. She stops at the old man and asks, "Kind sir, do you know the city to the east? What kind of people will I find there?" He asks, "What kind of people did you find in the city to the west?" She replies, "Oh, they were like I thought; kind, warm, considerate, and very loving." He looks up at her and says, "That's what you'll find to the east as well."
Moral of the story: You find what you are looking for...that goes for people and places and things and expectations. Choose to find joy and you will! Choose to be joyful and you will! Choose to live a life of joy and happiness and you will! God can provide all of that for you! Why? Because He LOVES YOU!!! Every minute of every day, you make a choice about your attitude. You can choose to be sad or you can choose to be glad. You can choose to be bored or choose to be content. You CAN choose JOY! Joy through Jesus Christ, Joy in your life every day. Knowing that Christ is your best friend and your strength is a hugely joyful thought! Knowing that He loves you and cares for you and will always be there for you is an amazingly cheerful thought and brings joy to the moment. You, YOU, choose your attitude in this life! I've known miserable millionaires and joyful peddlers; I've known joyful "sick" people and sorrowful "healthy" people. Choose God and choose Joy!
You ask, do I have to choose God to choose joy? No, but it sure makes Joy a whole lot easier to hold on to when things don't go the right way! When the world goes wrong, we all look for support and help and consolation and sympathy/empathy. God gives you all of that even when you can't find a human friend to stand by you. God will (and does) stand by you. God loves you more than you will ever be able to know or repay...He loves you just as much now as He will in heaven. You might think that since you haven't chosen God that He hasn't chosen you but you'd be wrong. God is waiting for you to join Him and become one in unity with His family. He's reaching out for you every day, wanting you to run into His arms and seek His face.
Sorry, I got geeked up like Charlie for a moment. Anyway, God loves you and can bring joy, wonderful peaceful joy, into your life. Give Him a shot, would you?
Love God, love people!
Jon
Yes, joy is a choice, but it is also something we can pray and ask God to give us. Why don’t we pray for joy? I had never thought of praying and asking God for joy until I read it in a book a few years ago. There are so many verses on joy. God desires to fill us with his joy, his peace, which ultimately gives us his strength to handle whatever may come. Why is it we never think to pray for joy, or is this just me? I must say in the last few years as God reminds me to pray for joy, he has also prepared me for difficult times. His word says, “the joy of the Lord is my strength” (Neh 8:10). I use to always wait and pray this after the storms hit, but God has shown me to make this a continual prayer because I never know what is coming. But regardless of the trials and storms that come, and they always seem to come, my joy is full in Him and when my joy is full in Him, He strengthens me. We have much to be thankful for, much to be joyful about when our focus is on the Lord Jesus.
Post a Comment