Tag Archives: draw near

Eternal Perspective, God's Greater Purposes, Love First Mentality

Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This

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You’re running late for work. You stayed up late and overslept. As you gather your info for the presentation you’re in charge of, you plop a sausage biscuit in the microwave and pry on your dress shoes. The oven sounds and you retrieve your breakfast. As you grab your lunch from the fridge, you spot the mustard and add a dab to your biscuit.

As you back out of the driveway, you calculate that, barring bad traffic, you’ll arrive just in time for the start of the meeting. You can feel the pressure mount as you pull to a stop at the first red light, the one that seems to take forever. As you wait, you take a sip of coffee and think of the countless hours you put into this presentation for your companies’ top client.

“We have good reasons for them to stay with us,” your boss had said. “You just have to clearly show them why.”

As you near the ramp to the highway, you hear a train whistle. Tension mounts. “Please Lord!” you pray.

No deal. The crossing arm comes down two cars a ahead of you. You’re stuck, boxed in, with no way to take an alternate route. The train cars just keep on coming. You sip your coffee and pick up  the biscuit from the paper plate.

As you take a bite,  you get lost in the savory, crunchy delight. But then, as if in slow motion, you watch a large mustard drop escape from the back end of the biscuit as you take your second bite. Yellowness plops and spreads quickly down your blue dress shirt.  You look around. No napkins.

Your boss glares you down as you burst into the conference room, fifteen minutes late. A junior colleague stands up from the presentation desk and gives you a questioning look. Soon after you sit down, you realize why. In your late night weariness, you forgot to upload the presentation from your home computer to the companies’ shared folder.

In stunned disbelief and growing panic, the words of a song flash in your mind:

Mamma said there’ll be days like thisThere’ll be days like this, mamma said. [1]

Perhaps you’ve had days which feel this unnerving. I know I have. What steps do we take to recover?

Recovery Mode

Being an IT professional, I’ve been trained to think recovery. We make plans for restoring the data when programs end abnormally?

That’s IT, but how do we recover from life’s unexpected happenings?

I suggest there’s two phases – circumstantial recovery (dealing with the problems at hand)  and inside recovery (dealing with the affects on our mind and emotions).

Circumstantially, in the above scenario,  perhaps an honest disclosure of your disastrous morning would add some sympathetic humor to the growing tension. Then you could give your presentation from the heart without the Power Point slides.

This might work, but what about the damage to your insides? What are ways you can tend to your heart when your outsides are falling apart?

Soul Recovery

What’s the plan?

As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to be reminded of God’s overall plan. Though we’d like to be, we’re not in control. God is and His plan doesn’t include elimination of chaos from our lives. He has a much greater plan. God is at work for His greater purpose of bringing the universe into submission to Jesus Christ. [2] He’s also at work in us, not for us to experience the American dream, but for us to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. [3]

Get with the plan?

If God’s plan is different than us just being happy, how can we get with His plan? Even though we love smooth, predictable days with no oversleeping, no train delays, no mustard stains and dazzling presentations, this is not necessarily God’s plan for our day.

What if far greater, eternal things happen in the midst of our difficulties? What if, in our trials, we learn more and more to depend on God and not on ourselves? [4] What if problems lead us into more intense interactions with folks around us, giving opportunities to love them more deeply?

The Rest of the Story

In the above scenario, when you finish speaking your  presentation, you feel relieved. As far as you can tell, you hit all the major points from your presentation.

To your surprise, the client walks up and congratulates you on how you owned up to your struggles and forged ahead, even with an ugly blob of mustard on your shirt. You both laugh. Your client mentions similar experiences and empathizes with you.

When the client leaves, you’re junior colleague comes up and compliments you on how cool you were under pressure and asks you how you did it. This gives you an opportunity to give glory to God for what He did in you. You tell him how you were praying and asking God for guidance the whole way through.

Hearing your name, you look over and  see your client and boss talking. They both smile at you. Your presentation did the trick, the client is renewing for another year.

Stepping Into the Greater Plan

Not every bad day ends with circumstantial success. Some days are so bad we feel the effects for a long time. However, if we stick with God’s greater plan as our goal, our actions can have positive eternal ramifications.

The bottom line has to do with our goal for each day. Is our primary goal to be successful in all our tasks with no problems? Or is our first priority to love God and whomever He puts in our path as we go about our duties? [5]

This change in focus is a paradigm shift which changes everything concerning our stress levels and our joy. Keeping God’s greater purposes in mind, we develop a love first mentality.

If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you  (John 15-10-12 NASB).

Prayer

Lord, I’ve had days like what is described above. At the time, it felt as if my life was falling apart and crashing into the sea.  But, You are an ever present help in my times of trouble. [6] Thank You.

You are trustworthy. You know what’s best for me. You never stop working for my greater good. Please increase my faith that I might always trust in Your greater purposes no matter my circumstances. Please help me order my days around loving over accomplishments. 

Amen 

[1] Song by The Shirelles, 1961

[2] Ephesians 1:9-12

[3] Romans 8:28-29

[4] II Corinthians 1:8-9

[5] Matthew 22:36-40

[6] Psalms 46:1-3

Other Posts on Experiencing God during Difficulties:

When Things Get Hard

Turing Drainers into Gainers

Can we be Sad and Glad at the Same Time?

Casting Your Burdens

Knowing God’s Love in Spite of the Circumstances

Mustering our Faith

Fixing Our Hope on What Lasts

Dealing with Sadness and Disappointment

I Can’t Do This

Longing Hearts

Until the Darkness Fades

Finding the Silver Lining

Orienting our Lives Around God’s Greater Purposes

Remaining Cheerful

Joy Which Brings Endurance

What’s a Normal Agenda

The Lord Our Keeper

The Monkey Trap

Nearsighted

Embracing God’s Purposes in our Pain

Done Trying to Fix Life

Near to the Broken Hearted

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Trusting God through very hard times, Waiting

When God Says Wait

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Growing up, I had an idealistic scenario of what I hoped my future would be like. My aim was a life of peace and circumstantial happiness. But it didn’t take long to realize reality is far different.

When I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I figured it would be much better since I’d chosen the right path. What I didn’t factor in is true life is about something far greater than comfort and smooth circumstances.

God is working for my good, but He alone knows what that is. Sometimes we face hard, confusing situations. Jesus tells us we’ll experience troubles , but we wonder why since all they seem to produce is pain. [1]

In a broken relationship my wife and I are facing with a close family member, God seems to have erected a ‘God at Work – No Trespassing’ sign. We’ve done all we know to do.

We pray ferociously. We cry out. We wait.

The following steps help:

Don’t Pretend 

Don’t pretend all is well. Acknowledge life is different than you had hoped. Accept the loss and feel the pain.

Lord, I call You near in the depths of my grief. You’re the God of all Comfort. Sooth my pain with the Joy of Your presence.[2]

Celebrate God’s Faithfulness

Celebrate the fact that God has seen you through tough times before and trust He will do it again in this situation.

Lord, You’ve been so faithful through so many difficulties. Looking back, I certainly see how You’ve used these trials for me to give up trying to live life on my own and to trust You.[3] The eternal work You’ve done in my soul makes this very hard situation worth it.  It has strengthened me emotionally and spiritually. It has drawn me closer to my bride.

Stop Fretting

Fret – to be worried or anxious.

Catch yourself in the act of fretting about what you can’t change. This is in the Lord’s hands. Decide to stop trying to figure things out.

Lord, I trust You to invite me into this difficulty when You’re ready. I don’t want to thwart what You’re doing. In the meantime, I trust You’re at work in the lives of all involved in ways I may never understand.

Focus on What’s Beautiful

Focus on the beautiful things on this side of the ‘God at Work’ sign.

With the birds, celebrate the waking of the new day. Look your loved ones in the face and take in every precious moment. Stay present. Engage your senses in all of God’s moments. Savor. Acknowledge God’s nearness in every detail of His creation.

Though we may feel as if we’ve failed, in Christ, we believers are complete. [4] and no situation can change that.  We died, and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God.[5]

Lord, in You I’m okay, even if this situation is never resolved. I’m free to enjoy life’s moments with You, in spite of  any unexpected situation. 

Take Time to Draw Near

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; (Psalm 73:28a NASB)

Lord, my heart is ready to be glad. In you, I rejoice always, even when life takes a turn which threatens my sense of well being. Through it all, my eyes are on You. My faith is growing because of this hard reality in ways I would have never thought possible.  I draw closer to You every day because of it. I don’t need this situation to work out to be okay.

You are enough.

My life is oriented from things above where I’m seated with You. My comfort is not the most important thing. Please continue Your work while I wait.

Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.  (Isaiah 40:31 NASB)

[1] John 16:33

[2] II Corinthians 1:3-5

[3] II Corinthians 1:8-9

[4] Colossians 2:9-10

[5] Colossians 3:3

Other Posts on enduring Hard Times:

When Things Get Hard

Turing Drainers into Gainers

Can we be Sad and Glad at the Same Time?

Casting Your Burdens

Knowing God’s Love in Spite of the Circumstances

Mustering our Faith

Fixing Our Hope on What Lasts

Dealing with Sadness and Disappointment

I Can’t Do This

Longing Hearts

Until the Darkness Fades

Finding the Silver Lining

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Eternal Thanksgiving, From Whom All Blessings Flow, To Be Thankful Always

Thanksgiving Never Ends.

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When I see this picture of an elderly hand grasping a tiny apple, it brings emotion. I’m not sure what the feelings are, but I think it’s a mixture of sadness and humble gratitude.

I don’t know the story behind the picture, but I do know three billion people in the world make less than two dollars a day. To that portion of the world, this small apple would be precious, and the people would be thankful.

Am I thankful for a small apple? Sadly, much larger apples have spoiled in our fruit bowl and become chicken food. Compared to the poorest people, I live in a country with a medium income of over 50k. I’ve never wondered if I’d have food for the next meal. Has this deadened my heart to being appreciate for what God provides?

I don’t want to take for granted God’s blessings, but I have.

Lord, develop in me a continual heart of gratitude which extends beyond a single day of thanking.  

Gifts Point to the Giver

Moments after I pray about having a more grateful heart, my wife enters the room, fresh from her time of solitude.

“I was just reminded of the doxology,” she says. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

God had been showing her how easy it is to focus on the gifts and forget the Giver.

Every gift, from small apples, to turkey feasts, to breath for another day comes from God the creator of all things.

I take what she says as an answer to my prayer for God to develop in me a continual heart of gratitude.

When I notice any gift, from food, to provision, to creation, to relationships, to …,  may the gift send me directly into thankful praise to my King.

 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you .. (Philippians 1:3 NASB).

And When people give me praise or compliments may I also see these as reasons to thank and praise God.

When people come up and give me a compliment… I take each remark as if it were a flower. At the end of the day I lift up the bouquet of flowers I have gathered throughout the day and say, ‘Here you are, Lord, it is all Yours.’” Corrie Ten Boom

Being Thankful for Eternal Blessings

Something else which comes to mind is how many things God has done for me in eternity which will never change.

As I focus on these eternal blessings, life’s gifts become cherries on top of a continual thanksgiving feast.

The Bible is full of reasons to be thankful, but here’s a summary of the unchanging truths in Ephesians 1:3-14:

I have every spiritual blessing available to me in Jesus.

God loves me and chose me to be in Christ before the world began.

In Jesus Christ, I’m holy and totally blameless.

It’s God’s pleasure to adopt me as His child through Jesus.

God did these things for me so that His glory, His infinite greatness and His worth, would be demonstrated in kindness and mercy toward me.

I’ve been redeemed, rescued from God’s wrath because of Jesus’ life blood shed on my behalf.

 God lavished His grace and mercy upon me, forgiving my every sin.

God has made known to me His intensions to summarize all things into Christ Jesus, my Lord.

I have a secure inheritance because God’s purposes are never thwarted.

God has sealed me with the Holy Spirit as a promise and pledge of my inheritance.

I belong to God and my life is to be a testimony to the praise of His glory and grace.

These, and many more truths, give me reasons for unending thanksgiving.

May Thanksgiving day launch a mindset of thankfulness in me which will never change.

Prayer

Lord, what a gift today has been. You’re giving me a thankful heart. You showed how even the smallest apple is a gift from Your hand, never to be taken for granted. You are the source of every blessings. Please help me to be continually thankful for You and not just the gifts You give me.

There are so many blessings You’ve given me which will never change. Please develop in me a continual thankful heart for what You’ve bestowed upon me in Christ.

I’m so sorry for the apples I’ve allowed to spoil because I didn’t treasure them. Tender my heart so that I will never take anything for granted again. They all come from Your hand.

Amen.

For Further Reading 

The Connection Between Gratitude and Joy

Enjoying Unhindered Intimacy with God

Communing With God

Completely Loved

Why is Knowing God’s love Essential?

The Connection between Love and Joy

What Threatens us knowing God’s Love?

Experiencing the Freedom of God’s Love

God’s Love in a Broken World

Being Loved by God is our True Identity

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Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Strengthening our Faith, When God seems Distant

Our Highest Joy (Mustering Our Faith)

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Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10 NASB)

It doesn’t take a pandemic and a nation marred in disunity to render us faint at heart. Life can be discouraging even without that stuff.

 And when we get a full dose and need to pause to catch our breath, life keeps on coming at us. To remain courageous, we must muster our faith.

Muster – to assemble troops as for a battle, to gather, to summon, to rouse

On a regular basis, we have repeated opportunities to gather and summon our faith. Like workouts in the gym, rousing our trust, when things aren’t smooth, builds muscle memory and strengthens our faith.

How do we muster our faith when we feel weak and God seems distant? Following are a few musts.

We Must Remember God’s Sovereignty

God is always in control. His purposes can’t be thwarted. He’s able to work all things together for His greater purposes.[1] Even the very hard situations we face are no surprise to God. In His omnipotence, the sinful choices by men, the state of this fallen world and the schemes of the enemy can not change what God is doing.

Joseph told his brothers, “And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”[2]  

God used Jonah’s disobedience to illicit praise from the folks on the ship to Tarashish.[3]

The evil intent of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus led to the salvation of all men.

God has entrusted us with each circumstance we’re in and desires us to trust Him and not our own understanding of our situations.[4]

We Must Orient Our Lives from God’s Greater Story

Paul tells believers that since we have been raised up with Christ, we’re to set our minds on things above, not on things of the earth.[5]

We need to see our lives from an eternal perspective, knowing God is at work for our greater good. He’s working all things for the purpose of conforming us into the image of Christ, not for us to experience a smooth ride.[6] It’s vital for us to understand this. If not, we can view God as a distant dictator, out to destroy our hopes and dreams.

We need to live now with the end in mind. Being more like Christ is what this life is about, not temporal happiness. For we died and our life is now hidden in Christ.[7]

We Must Realize Being with God is Our Highest Joy

The Bible has an overarching theme, woven into the fabric from Genesis to Revelation. Us being with God. We were created for fellowship with Him.

David, wrote that even in the shadow of death, he would not be afraid because He knew God was with him.[8] He also wrote that in God’s presence, joy is full.[9]

 After crying out to God concerning the unfairness of life, Asaph concluded that God’s nearness was his good, not his lot in life.[10]

From a Roman prison Paul repeatedly instructed us to be full of joy in the Lord. Not just when we feel like it, but at all times.[11]

We Must Remember God’s Love for us Never Fails

No matter how often we fall short in actions and faith, God’s love for us never fails, it’s everlasting.[12] His lovingkindness never ceases. His mercies are new every morning.[13]

 As believers, we are His children, a fact established before the world began.[14] Nothing can separate us from His great love.[15] His love for us can be described as deeper and wider and longer than an ocean and higher than the heavens. It surpasses our ability to comprehend.[16]

Prayer

Lord, we come to You now. You know the place we’re in. You’re not surprised by any of it. You’re with us and have allowed it for our greater good. Help us not to doubt Your ways. May we draw near to You and walk in utter dependence upon You. We were never to face these things alone. We depend upon Your strength in our weakness. Amen.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”[17] The Apostle Paul

[1] Ephesians 1:9-12

[2] Genesis 50:20 (NASB)

[3] Jonah 1:14-16

[4] Proverbs 3:5-6

[5] Colossians 3:1-2

[6] Romans 8:28-29

[7] Colossians 3:3

[8] Psalm 23:4

[9] Psalm 16:11b

[10] Psalm 73, 73:28

[11] Philippians 3:1, 4:4

[12] Jeremiah 31:3

[13] Lamentations 3:22-23

[14] Ephesians 1:4-5

[15] Romans 8:35

[16] Ephesians 3:14-19

[17] 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:

Unmasking the Lie

Dealing with sadness and disappointment

Eternal Thanksgiving

Fueled by the Joy of Jesus

God with Us

Fixing Our Hope

Remaining Cheerful

Not My Will

.Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

All our Worship, The Bounties of God

Our Highest Joy (Remaining Cheerful )

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All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. (Proverbs 15:15 NASB).

Solomon wrote that all the days of the afflicted are bad. Afflicted – poor, humble, wretched, needy and lowly. Though this might not describe all our days, most of us have experienced times of affliction. But, in his wisdom, Solomon gave us a remedy. We need a cheerful heart. If we have that, he says we’ll have a continual feast, the longings of our hearts will stay satisfied. No more searching for someone or somebody to fill our deep desires. A cheerful heart will fill us up to overflowing joy.

This sounds exciting, but how does it play out in the moments of our lives? Sometimes the condition of our hearts hang in the balance, based on how we’re feeling or what’s going on around us. What’s the secret of having and maintaining a cheerful heart and how do we walk in continual spiritual nourishment?

What is a Cheerful Heart?

The Hebrew word translated as “cheerful” in the above verse has a wide variety of meanings. Agreeable to the senses, such as fair to the sight, sweet to the taste, fragrant to the smell and as a cooling shadow of a tree. This brings the word into a context we can relate to in our experience, but it also encompasses terms of a broader, higher nature such as beautiful, pleasant, excellent, fruitful, fertile, advantageous, choice, fine, pure, goodly, valuable, better, merry, glad.

As I read these descriptions of the word Solomon used, I sense its magnitude and  “out of this world” richness. It congers up thoughts and feelings of complete peace and bliss, like being nurtured under the mighty wings of God.

He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall (Psalm 91:4 NASB).

I think of what David declared in Psalm 4:7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound (NASB).

And verses like: “Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1b NIV)

and

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good (Psalms 73:28a NASB)

The bottom line is that God Himself is the true source of our joy. As David wrote, In your presence is fullness of Joy” (Psalms 16:11b NASB).

Though our hearts are cheered by the beauties of His creation, only God Himself can give us the kind of continual gladness which produces an ongoing buffet of spiritual nourishment.

Maintaining a Cheerful Heart.

It doesn’t have to take a difficult trial or sadness to get me off track. On any normal day I can easily rely on what’s around me to keep my heart encouraged. But eventually, this always leaves me empty. In my experience, it’s not what’s going on around me or even how I’m feeling which strengthens my heart and gives me courage.  Maintaining a joyful, cheerful heart has everything to with the focus of my worship.

Worship – to give worth or worthiness.

We all have an ongoing decision to make. Are we going to choose, as David did in the following verse, to worship God as our one desire? One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple (Psalm 27:4 NASB).

Or, are we going to put greater worth on our circumstances and how we feel?

This is not a one and done decision for the day. Delighting in the Lord, and not in how we’re doing, is a moment by moment choice. 

Over time, in countess turnings of our gaze back to Him, we begin to understand.

God Himself is not only the reason for our cheerful hearts but also the source of nourishment which fully satiates our souls with the bounties of His goodness.

Prayer

Lord, You fill my heart to overflowing with the beauties of Your magnificence. Please keep me focused on You. I want You to always by my one true worship. I depend upon You and Your Indwelling Spirit to keep me in the shadow of Your wings. Show me quickly when my hearts shifts to worshipping my own comfort. Teach me to trust in Your love and Your greater purposes.  I lay my life and my story at Your feet. I delight in the rich, sweetness of Your goodness.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)  

Amen.

 

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:

Unmasking the Lie

Dealing with sadness and disappointment

Eternal Thanksgiving

Fueled by the Joy of Jesus

God with Us

Fixing Our Hope

.Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

 

Our Only Hope

Our Highest Joy (Fixing Our Hope )

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Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:13 NASB).

Our hope needs fixing; at least mine does. I’m guilty of tying my sense of well-being to my circumstances. I want to fix my hope on something more substantial than a smoother year in 2021. With the deep division in our country, the global pandemic and plenty of natural disasters, having our stability tied to temporal happiness is a recipe for an emotional roller coaster ride. As mentioned previously, we were designed to find our joy in Eternal God, not in how our life is going. Our health, our relationships, our finances, or our jobs are flimsy structures to hang our hopes on. Unless we fix our hope, our courage to face the day’s activities and challenges hangs in the balance.

The Link Between Hope and Courage

As a noun, hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and trust that a certain thing will happen. Dr. David Rubin wrote, “Hope is a critical component of the complete care of a patient.”[1] Hope is critical to the human psyche. Without it, discouragement sets in.

When we’re in the midst of difficulties, we can fear our lives will never get better. With our hope fixed on circumstances, nagging, long lasting trials can drain us and zap us of the joy our hearts so desperately need. 

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NASB).

When difficulties come, Jesus tells us to take courage.  Be encouraged, not because we hope things will get better, but because Jesus has overcome the world.

Fixing Our Hope on Jesus

In the first verse quoted above, Peter charges us to keep our minds unhindered.  This includes not attaching our sense of well-being to ANY situation, relationship, or temporal joy. He tells us to fix our hope COMPLETELY on the grace to be given us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Don’t miss this. Our hope needs to be ONLY in Jesus.

Paul says the same thing in Colossians 3:1-2. He reminds us that since we’ve been raised with Christ, we should orient our lives from where we sit with Him above, not on how things are going on earth.   

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.

Then he tells us how:

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:3-4 NASB).

It’s not about us. We’ve been crucified with Jesus and raised with Him in newness of life.[2] Jesus is our life. As believers, we’re free to rest in His life and not fret about ours. We’re in Christ and He’s in us. We’re enclosed round about and hidden in His life. The pressure is off for us having to keep trying to finding temporal happiness to remain hopeful.

But What do we do About our Sadness?

It’s great to be heavenly minded, but what do we do with life’s sadness? Some situations don’t seem to ever get better. I used to smile through them and deny their gravity, but this “grin and bear it” approach is not the answer. It produces an inauthentic, plastic kind of “joy”.

I’m learning how to embrace the fact that sadness is a part of life. And it has it’s place. When I feel sad, I cry out to Jesus. My grief becomes an invitation to call the Lord near. The pain is real, but in the midst, my Comforter brings a strange, unshakable joy.

Hardships can propel me to Jesus and keep me from fixing my hope on anything but Him.

Prayer

Lord, Your ways are so much higher than mine. I have no idea how You keep me encouraged through life’s trials. What a beautiful mystery. And because You’ve been my longstanding Comfort through it all, my Joy in You grows deeper every day. And I get to share what You’ve done for me with others.[3]   I pray I would always be more concerned about loving the people you bring my way than how I feel. I know you care about me and I trust You with my life.[4]

Amen.

 [1] The Importance of Hope in Medical Care – Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation (giresearchfoundation.org)

[2] Romans 6:3-11

[3] 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

[4] I Peter 5:6-7

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:

Unmasking the Lie

Dealing with sadness and disappointment

Eternal Thanksgiving

Fueled by the Joy of Jesus

God with Us

.Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Indwelling Christ, Our Union with Christ, The Nearness of God

Our Highest Joy (God With Us)

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Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us (Matthew 1:23 NASB)

As our unusual 2020 comes to a close, we pause to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. The Creator of the universe brought near. But what does this really mean? And how does God being with us change who we are, our approach to life and our purpose?

But what is most important about God’s nearness is how His strength and Joy gives us the courage to face any battle we’re in. He’s an ever present help in times of trouble.

What Does “God With Us” Really Mean?

From Eternity

  • Jesus was with God in the beginning and the world was created through Him and for Him. [1] [2]
  • In Jesus all things hold together.[3]
  • Jesus is the first place in everything and God’s fulness dwells in Him [4]

What Christ Gave up for Us

  • And although He existed in the form of God, He emptied Himself taking the form a bond servant.[5]
  • He set aside His splendor to enter this world in human likeness as a baby in simple circumstances.[6]
  • Fueled by the Joy of our redemption, He endured the excruciating pain of the cross to provide us a path to God[7]

How it Becomes Personal

We can allow another Christmas to go by, singing the songs, exchanging the gifts, and eating the food. We can miss the life changing significance of Christ actually being with us in a personal way.

Christ is always in full display in the beauties of the world around us, but “God with us” can become personal:

Recognize the gap

Without Christ we are do not have an intimate relationship with God, without hope in the world, destined to be apart from Him for eternity.[8] [9] [10]

Stop trying to live a good enough life

Eternal life can’t be earned. We don’t make it to heaven by our good works outweighing our wrongs. God’s economy doesn’t work that way.[11]

Believe God

Believing means trusting in Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf, committing your life to His care and relying upon Him for every concern.  

Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24 NASB)

What Changes When “Being With God” Becomes Personal  

Who We Are Changes Forever

  • We become loved children of God But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12 NASB)
  • God lives in us Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23 NASB)
  • We are complete, fully accomplished and filled to the brim in Christ For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete (Colossians 2:9-10a NASB)

 Our Approach to Life Changes

  • We Decrease and He Increases[12] For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3 NASB)
  •  We live by faith not by sight, trusting in God’s greater story [13] [14]  Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)
  •  We live in abiding dependence upon God’s Holy Spirit within us [15]  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20 NASB)

 Our Goals and Purposes are New

  •  Our top goal is now to Delight in God’s great worth, not worldly happiness.  One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple (Psalms 27:4 NASB)
  • God Himself is now our greatest reward not things of the earth. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1 NIV)
  •  Our higher Daily purpose becomes loving others not just getting things done. This is My commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:12 NASB)

Prayer

Lord, You are with me right now. Thank You for leading me to slow down and ponder what Immanuel really means. You set aside so much to be with me and to die for me. Please help me fully appreciate what Your nearness means to every moment of my life. I’m yours. I pray I will delight in You throughout the day, knowing that You alone are my great reward. In Your strength, may I love others as You’ve loved me.

In everything I’ve faced and will face, You’ve been my Strength, my Joy and my Courage. May I lean into You throughout life’s journey.

Amen.

[1] John 1:1-3

[2] Colossians 1:16

[3] Colossians 1:17

[4] Colossians 1:18-19

[5] Philippians 2:6-8

[6] Philippians 2:6-8

[7] Hebrews 12:2

[8] Romans 3:23

[9] Isaiah 59:2

[10] Ephesians 2:12

[11] Ephesians 2:4-10

[12] John 3:30

[13] 2nd Corinthians 5:7

[14] Colossians 3:1-2

[15] John 15:4-5

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:

Unmasking the Lie

Dealing with sadness and disappointment

Eternal Thanksgiving

Fueled by the Joy of Jesus

.Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Enduring Joy

Our Highest Joy (Joy which brings Endurance )

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“If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.[1]” Jesus

Jesus speaks of us having His joy, a quality of joy which is unaffected by circumstances, a joy which motivates and gives endurance. He wants us to have this complete joy.  Seems joy is more than a “nice to have” optional part of our lives. It’s something Jesus intends for us.

Jesus spoke the above words the night before His crucifixion.  Yet, even knowing what awaited Him, Jesus speaks of full joy. What’s the quality of His joy and how do we step into it?

 Joy Defined

As a noun, joy is defined as a feeling of extreme cheerfulness related to acquiring or expecting to acquire something good.[2] Others would argue that joy is not an emotion at all, but a deep attitude or belief which soothes even the most sorrowful situations. [3] These two aspects of joy seem contradictory, but we see both in what we read about the joy of Jesus.

The Joy of Jesus

Motivated by Joy

The writer of Hebrews says Jesus’ joy motivated Him to endure the cross:

Looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2 ESV).

Jesus, in anticipation of something good (our redemption) had a deep joy which gave Him the strength to endure the cross.  His trust in God’s plan of our reconciliation motivated Him to bravely hold fast in the midst of excruciating[4] pain.

Question: When you think of the joy of being with Jesus forever, does it give you strength? Does your trust in this benefit motivate you to endure a difficulty you’re currently facing?

Joy in what pleases God

Luke writes that after the seventy two returned with joy after having been sent out two by two to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near, Jesus greatly rejoiced and praised the Lord. It gave Him great joy that what was happening was pleasing in His Father’s eyes.[5]

Jesus was full of joy and exceedingly glad to experience what pleased His Father God.  

Question:   What is happening around you now that is pleasing to God?

Spend a few moments rejoicing that your Loving Father is a Sovereign King whose greater purposes will not be thwarted.

Joy of Salvation

In Luke 15, beginning at verse 4, Jesus gives the parable of the lost sheep. He tells us of how the owner is full of joy when the sheep is found and urges others to rejoice with him.  Comparatively, Jesus speaks of the joy experienced in all of heaven when one sinner repents.

Salvation means obtaining the gift of the Holy Spirit now and being with God now and forever. Reasons for great joy.

Challenge: Spend a few minutes pondering the far reaching joys of your own salvation.  And don’t take for granted the salvation of those you love. Rejoice in salvation.

Receiving the Joy of Jesus?

Jesus wants us to have joy, His joy; the kind of joy which gives us the courage and motivation to endure life’s toughest challenges.

Jesus’ kind of joy comes from us loving others as He’s loved us.

Jesus’ kind of joy is tied to what pleases His Father.

Jesus’ kind of joy is full when a sinner repents and believes in the finished work of Christ for salvation.

Prayer

Lord, I want Your complete joy. I know You want me to have it. I know all difficulties fade in the joy and peace of Your nearness. You tell us our present sufferings are less than nothing compared to the glories to be revealed to us.[6] When I ponder the reality that You want me to share in Your joy, I can scarcely take it in. Lord, I desire the complete joy You intend for me to have.  I open my life to receive it. Teach me to obey Paul’s command to rejoice in You at all times.

Amen

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10b ESV).

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:

Unmasking the Lie

Dealing with sadness and disappointment

Eternal Thanksgiving

.[1] John 15:10-12

[2] https://wikidiff.com/gladness/joy

[3] healthpsychology.org/is-there-a-relationship-between-happiness-and-joy

[4] Unbearable pain, literally “out of the cross”

[5] Luke 10:21-22

[6] Romans 8:18

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

To Be Thankful Always

Our Highest Joy (Remaining Thankful)

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB).

Eternal Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here. However, in this COVID-19 year, nothing is normal. Perhaps shaking things up a bit is a good thing. So far this year I’ve learned, among other things, to detach from sports and politics, to truly quiet myself and rest, and to more fully appreciate the people and world around me. What will this year’s Thanksgiving be like?

In a recent message, Pastor Steve Berger[1] used the term “Eternal Thanksgiving” in describing how we have reason to be forever thankful for blessings which do not change. If we can latch onto this concept of always being thankful for what God has done for us in Christ Jesus, life’s many blessings become like cherries on top of a continual thanksgiving feast.

These Things do not Change

Pastor Steve used Ephesians 1:3-14 as an example of unchanging things we can be eternally thankful for as believers. To paraphrase these great truths as God might state them to us:

I have given you every spiritual blessing available in my Son Jesus. I chose you to be in Him before the world began and for you to be found in Him as holy and totally blameless. In My pleasure and love for you, I’ve adopted you as my child through My Beloved Son. I did this so that My glory, My infinite greatness and worth, would be demonstrated in kindness and mercy toward you. In Jesus, you have been redeemed, rescued from My wrath because of Jesus’ life blood shed on your behalf.  I’ve lavished My grace and mercy upon you to forgive your every sin. In Christ, I have made known to you My intensions; that in the fulness of time all things will be summarized and brought to completion in My Son. You have an inheritance, which is secure because My purposes are never thwarted. And I’ve sealed you with the Holy Spirit as a promise and pledge of your inheritance. You are mine and your life is a testament of praise to My glory and grace.[2]

Certainly, as mentioned before, this is a paraphrase, but the truths stated are right out of Scripture. May they begin to form in us reasons for unending, eternal thanksgiving. May this holiday season launch a mindset of ongoing thankfulness which is not dependent on any circumstance?

Thanksgiving Leading to Joyful Living

We’ve been discussing God Himself is our highest Joy. How can thanking the Lord be a pathway to a deeper experience of our Joy in Him? What’s the connection between being thankful and being joyful? In Nehemiah’s account of the Israelites celebrating the dedication of the wall after their captivity, we see songs of thanksgiving erupting into overflowing joy.

Thanksgiving – Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they could celebrate the dedication with joy, with songs of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres (Nehemiah 12:27 NASB).

Joy – and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, and the women and children rejoiced as well, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away (Nehemiah 12:43 NASB).

Our continual thankfulness in all that God has done leads to enjoyment of who He is, drawing us near to Him, the very source of Joy.[3]

Challenge

Think of at least one circumstance which threatens to steal your sense of gratitude? Now, think about reasons for to be thankful, like the ones mentioned above, which are certain and unaffected by this circumstance.

Genuinely thank God for these things.

Now think of one or two blessings which truly gratify your heart. It could be family, friends, your Thanksgiving meal, etc. Continue your thanksgiving  by thanking God for these things on top of all He’s done for you in Christ.

Rinse and repeat.

Prayer

Lord, You’ve opened my eyes to a treasure of riches to be thankful for. I see from Your word all You’ve done for me. These eternal blessing in Christ begin now and forever flow into eternity. You’ve given me so many things to be thankful for which are beyond corruption and unaffected by anything in this world. Please keep me from forgetting how thankful You make me. And please keep my heart steadfast no matter what the future holds. No matter what, I have a reasons in You to always be thankful.

Amen.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6 NASB).

[1] Steve Berger is Senior Pastor at Grace Chapel in Franklin, Tennessee

[2] Ephesians 1:3-14

[3] Psalm 16:11

Dealing with Sadness and Disappointment

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains