Tag Archives: Eternal joy

Eternal Joy, God's Nearness

With-ness – Communion with God

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The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;   He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV)

As I prepare to write on our deck, our little shih apso rescue dog yelps from our porch to join me. On Good Friday, she was found roaming the streets. We picked her up for adoption the next day and named her Lily[1]. Lily longs to be with us every second of the day. Without us, she pines with compassionate longing.

Scripture confirms that God’s desire to be with us is even more intense than Lily’s. Us communing with God is a major theme in the Bible. He created us so that we could enjoy fellowship with Him and, by doing so, bring Him glory.[2] It brings Him great pleasure to share Himself with us. So much so that He was willing to send forth His only Son to die on a Roman cross to restore our fellowship, broken by our sin.[3]

Emmanuel, God with Us, came to earth in the form of a baby, to take our sins upon His back and die in our place. To those who believe in His name and receive Him, God gives the right to become His children.[4] He wants to be with us every second of every day.

Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23b ESV)

Not only is God all around, but He also indwells us. This inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit allows for the most intimate communion possible. The Lord is near, ready to be the strength of our lives and an ever-present source of eternal joy, surpassing even when grain and new wine abound.[5]

But sadly, we can go through an entire day detached from our life source, looking at the world to bring joy to our hearts and relying on our own feeble strength. How do we believe and appreciate God’s desire to be with us and walk in awareness of His nearness? Below are some suggestions:

  • Settle daily into the fact that God loves you with an everlasting love,[6] a love which can’t be changed by what you think, how you feel or any past, present or future choice. Walk around in His love. When lies of condemnation and shame bombard you, let them be reminders to remain in His love.
  • Understand that, in spite of your problems and difficulties, God is working for your good according to His purposes. Rather than a smooth life, He wants you to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus.[7]
  • Be aware that your inner need for satisfaction and joy was placed in your heart when He created you.[8] In His presence is fullness of Joy.[9] As worldly trappings draw your heart, promising to fulfill you and complete you, remember the source of all joy is closer than breathe. Acknowledge His nearness and turn your heart back to Him whenever you realize you’ve wandered away.

Lord, thank you for Lily. Continue to use her to remind me that you actually delight to be with me, that I give you joy. Wow. Communing with you is sweeter than honey and more valuable than gold.[10] One day with you is better than a thousand days elsewhere.[11] When I get caught up in my day and long for comfort and painless living, please remind me that in Your presence us unconditional joy, especially when times are hard. Thank you so much for loving me this intensely and wanting to be with me.  Amen.

[1] For Easter Lily

[2] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1

[3] John 3:16

[4] John 1:12

[5] Psalm 4:7

[6] Jeremiah 31:3

[7] Romans 8:28-29

[8] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[9] Psalm 16:11b

[10] Psalm 119:72,103

[11] Psalm 84:10

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 once a week. Thank you for reading. 

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

God's Greater Purposes

God Himself is Our Very Great Reward

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

Abram was called from his home, from his relatives, from his father’s house. [1] God promised Abram he would have descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth.[2]

But Abram was afraid. He and Sarai were childless. How could God do what He’d promised? Circumstances didn’t match what God said He’d do.

Later God would make a covenant with Abram and change his name to Abraham (father of many nations). God blessed Abraham and choose to make him into a great nation, not just physically, but spiritually. Through Abraham, God would bring forth His Son to die in our place and usher in His eternal Kingdom.

Abraham saw glimpses of God’s coming kingdom, but many things were unclear. In Gerar, because he was afraid, he lied about Sarah being his sister.[3] Later, after Isaac was born, God tested him, asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Abraham obeyed, trusting in an eternal story he didn’t understand.

God has an eternal story for us. He’s working to show us He Himself is all we need.

God is our Very Great Reward. He’s who we’ve been looking for all our lives. To the degree we understand and grow to love Him, eternal Peace, Hope and Joy will be a part of our days. God is at work for our greater good. He is working to unlatch our hearts from anything or anybody we love more than Him, but this process can be very difficult.

What are we afraid of right now? Has the unthinkable happened? If God is our Great Reward, can even the worst news take away our Joy? When all is stripped away, will we sink deeper into His love; or will we be afraid?

At Embassy Suites finishing out a birthday get away with my bride. Headed back to the room I pass Felicia from housekeeping. She asks how I’m doing. “Fine,” I say, really more as a salutation, “How about you?” I ask.

“I’m awesome!” she says with a big smile. Not expecting such an exuberant answer, I stop and chat. I learn her condition has nothing to with what’s going on in her life. It comes from her trust in King Jesus and His plans for her. God is teaching her that He is her Shield, her Very Great Reward.

Lord, my heart is full. I know you are my Very Great Reward, but there are things on earth which compete with You. Guide me into full surrender. Like Felicia, help me learn to be awesome because You’re Awesome. May I be filled with thanksgiving because You’re in charge of my story. Help me trust, even in the midst of life’s difficulties. You are my Shield, my Very Great Reward. I will not be afraid. Amen.

[1] Genesis 13:4

[2] Genesis 13:14-18

[3] Genesis 20

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:

Rob Buck

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

Christ - Our Life

Live Christ

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For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21 NASB)

Even though we’ve been married for 37, my bride and I shoot to  keep date nights a part of our routine. Recently we tried a nearby “fancy” restaurant which had a nice atmosphere, but, except for their carrot cake,  less than delicious food. Even so, we relished the new experience and continued our date with a movie at home.

We rented The Long Goodbye, an inspiring documentary about Kara Tippetts’ struggle with terminal cancer. In one scene, Kara shared vulnerably about a night of weeping after learning her cancer had spread. She was wrestling with Philippians 1:21, admitting to God she wasn’t sure she could trust that “dying is gain”.

Quoting her: “And there was this ever so clear answer, ‘Oh, I’ve got that taken care of. Kara, do you believe that to live is Christ.’” Kara went on to confess it was hard “to live is Christ” in the midst of her battle, but she wanted to.

I want to as well and knowing God has my eternity taken care of, really helps. I think of what Paul wrote, “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9b NASB)

There’s gladness in knowing how our story ends. But latching onto eternal joy, means loosening our grip on now. God wants us totally committed to Him; not our personal comfort. He strips away things which distract us from Him. This may seem cruel, but it’s actually very loving.

Paul writes of his own experience with this truth, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” (II Corinthians 2:8-9 NASB)

I’m no Greek scholar, but in my phone app, which shows the true Greek meaning behind our English translations, “is” in “to live is Christ” has no corresponding Greek word. Does this mean to live Christ is a proper way to read it? Perhaps. Regardless, I do want to live Christ.

He indwells me by His Spirit.[1] God has placed me in Christ.[2] I’ve been hidden in Christ and Christ is my life.[3]

One day I will see Christ as He truly is, in undescribable glory. If I’m living Christ now, dying is gain. I’ll have more of Him.

Lord, I want to live each moment for you. Please be my strength, my purpose, my reason, my life. I’m weak and my heart is easily swayed. Only in You and by Your Indwelling Spirit may I live a life totally focused on you as my life.

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] I Corinthians 1:30

[3] Colossians 3:3-4

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

Wrapped in Love Peace and Joy

Hidden with Christ in God

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For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3 NASB)

On a long weekend away at one of our favorite places, Wrightsville Beach, NC. It’s not only because of the turquoise surf and pristine sand, but also for how private and secluded it feels. When the kids were growing up, we enjoyed many summer weeks with their cousins at my brother in law’s beach house on the south end of the island. Today we’re at Shell Island Resort, close to where Mason Inlet, fed by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean, forms a sandy semi-circle at the northern end.

I read that I died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. I want to understand what this means. The thought of being hidden with Christ in God is extremely comforting. Hidden in His righteousness, His peace, His protection, His joy. I want to walk around clothed with Christ, fully understanding my spiritual death[1] and union with Him in every aspect of life. This makes me feel glad.

Lord, please show me more.

As a kid, my siblings, cousins and I would make up games around thick hedges we called the enchanted forest. Nestled on either side of our grandparent’s side porch, below towering circular white columns, were nicely groomed holly bushes with red berries. Whether we were playing hide and go seek or fleeing an approaching giant, we would slip in between them into an open area, completely hidden from view. Lost in our imaginations, we were safe and protected from any outside harm.

Hidden with Christ in God.

The verses before read:

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

In order to walk out being hidden with Christ in God, I need to keep seeking (require, aim at, strive for) the truths of eternity. I live in time and space, but God isn’t bound by time. Right now, I’m spiritually positioned with Christ in God. Paul is telling me that if I want the peace, joy and security of being completely surrounded by Jesus, I must orient my life around the eternal, unchangeable spiritual fact that I died and Christ is now my life.

Outside of the enchanted forest, life can be brutal. People I love are deeply hurting. There’s critical illness. Relationships are strained. Marriages are splintering. But in the midst, God is asking me to rest in His nearness and trust His process. He tells me how my story ends: When Christ who is your life appears, then you will appear with Him in glory.[2]

Lord, I read these truths and believe them. I want to always keep an eternal mindset, rejoicing in Your continual nearness, even during very hard times. As I look out at the spread of Your ocean before me, I remember Your love for me is beyond knowledge – wider, deeper, longer and higher than the expanse of water and sky before me.  Please show me how to keep this very real eternal orientation even in the midst of sadness and loss.

Just walked to the end of the island and dipped our feet in Mason Inlet. By the pool now enjoying the breeze before a late lunch. A black bird keeps returning to the ladder to drink and bathe. I catch a whiff of a white lantana beside the lounge chair. The rhythmic sound of the ocean surf sooths my soul. God has created so many things for me to enjoy, all reminders of His presence and love for me.

If I’m to understand what it means to walk around, hidden in a Jesus hug, I need to come to full terms with my spiritual death. Paul tells us Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.[3]

Knowing and reckoning my spiritual death, truly frees me from much of life’s angsts. For example, if I died:

  • Can I be offended?
  • Can I seek after my own glory?
  • Can I push my own agenda?
  • Can I insert myself into situations I haven’t been invited?
  • Do I need to worry about fighting for my own satisfaction and joy?
  • Do I need to do anything to try and earn love from God or any person?
  • Is there any situation which comes up which is a surprise to God or is too hard for Him to handle?

Wow! Lord, I see it now. Knowing I died, must come before walking in the safety of Your embracing presence. When self rises up, in any flavor, it’s a direct pull against the abiding life You want me to live. Thank You for opening up to me the freedom of not having to worry about me anymore. For I died and my life is now hidden with You and in You. I walk out of the enchanted forest holding onto truths I do not see, but believe with all my heart. I need You. Please help me to keep me believing and trusting as I face the storms ahead. Amen.

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

[1] Romans 6:4-11

[2] Colossians 4:4

[3] Romans 6:11

Eternal Joy, God's Greater Purposes

Done Trying to Fix Life? (Embrace God’s Greater Story)

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Lost in a Temporary World

Have you ever been so into watching a movie or TV series you forgot about the ‘real world’ for a while? I suppose that’s part of the appeal. For a period of time we can get so lost in what’s happening on the other side of a screen, we forget about the duties and challenges we’ll face when we’re done. Or maybe we’ll watch another episode.

First Thing Happiness 

In his book, A Different Kind of Happiness,[1] Larry Crabb awakens us to the fact that we’re all part of an eternal reality which supersedes what goes on before our eyes. This larger story, orchestrated by God, will not be thwarted. Crabb calls us to stop focusing on the temporary world and our endless pursuit of happiness. He calls this kind of circumstantial happiness – second thing happiness.

Rather he urges us to travel the narrow road of seeking what he calls first thing happiness or joy. First thing happiness is unaffected by how our lives are going because it flows from God’s larger story. He says loving like Jesus is what keeps us in the flow of God’s greater purposes.

“Loving like Jesus, self-sacrificially and not self protectively, produces first thing happiness.”[2]

Loving Like Jesus 

The night before He was crucified, Jesus demonstrated His love by washing the disciples’ feet, a duty typically done by the servants of the house. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas and Peter, whom He knew would betray and deny Him. Later that same night, He gave one command, which if we obey it, will keep us in His love and complete our joy.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:9-12 NIV).

There are amazing facts in these verses:

  • Jesus loves us as much as God loves Him (Verse 9)
  • Jesus commands us to remain in His love, then he tells us how (Verse 9, 10,12)
  • Jesus says if we love others as He’s loved us, we’ll remain in His love (Verses 10,12)
  • Jesus says these things to give us His Joy and to make our joy complete (Verse 11)

In Summary 

If we love others sacrificially, as Jesus has loved us, we’ll experience His joy, a joy not based on circumstances, a joy fueled by His love.

Jesus, the author and perfecter of 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 12:2b NASB).

As Crabb puts it:[3]

  • Determine to walk life on the narrow road, not focusing on temporary happiness.
  • Live your life in the larger story of what God’s doing
  • Engage the battle for a better love, loving as Jesus has loved us
  • Look at life from above the sun, not from under the sun

The way Paul states this last point is: Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 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 3:1-4 NASB).

See II Corinthian 4:16-18 for another great example of living in God’s larger story.

Personal Experience 

These rhythms of focusing on God’s eternal story and not being so concerned with my own happiness has been a real paradigm shift in my life. I have a long way to go, but the shift is gaining traction. What helps is when my focus and prayer of the day is, Lord, who do you want to love through me today?

Throughout these days I can be tempted to leave this focus and go back to fighting for smooth circumstances and pleasant moments. However, when, by the abiding Holy Spirit, I keep the duties as the second thing and focus on the people, the results are most encouraging.

Through this evolving process, trusting in God’s sovereignty and His greater purposes produces growing hope and joy, even during personal difficulties.

And, not having to fight for own my happiness is extremely freeing.

As this new journey on the narrow road unfolds, the duties are not the main thing, but the pathways to the people God wants to love through me. The difficulties bring me into the flow of God’s larger story of freeing every human heart to find satisfaction and contentment in Christ alone.

[1]Larry Crabb,  A Different Kind of Happiness (Baker Books, 2016)

[2] Ibid, p 21

[3] Ibid, p 222

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:

Rob Buck

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

Joy Defined, Joyful Heart, Joyful Strength

How Can the Joy of the Lord be our Strength?

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Weeping

God’s people were weeping. They’d been through years of exile in a foreign land, but were back in Jerusalem, gathered before the newly rebuilt Water Gate. Ezra, the priest, asked for the book of the Law of Moses to be brought forth. He read it from early morning to midday. The people were attentive and greatly moved.[1]

Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6) NASB.

From hearing the law of God, something was awakened deep within the people. A longing for God was stirred up. They began to weep.[2]

A Call to Joy

When Nehemiah heard the people weeping, he said to them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” (Nehemiah 8:9)

Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

David had written years before, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11b).

In this time of grieving, of weeping, of longing for God, the people needed to be encouraged. Their hearts needed to be infused with the joy of the Lord which grows with His nearness.

What is Joy?

The word Hebrew for joy Nehemiah used to cheer the people literally means gladness. But joy has much deeper implications than just being happy.

In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis describes joy as the experience “of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” He goes on to say that joy only has one characteristic in common with happiness and pleasure, “the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again.”[3]

So this experience called Joy is an awakening in our hearts of a longing for God, knit into every fabric of our being. Joy exuding from the Lord, awakens our longing for Him and invites us further into His presence.

Enjoy

God has given us many things to enjoy. Nehemiah commands the people to enjoy eating the fat of the land and to drink of the sweet, making glad their hearts. These enjoyments are a physical manifestation of Joy flowing from God’s bounty of delight. He wants us to enjoy what He’s created.

Then Nehemiah directs the people to ultimate Delight, to God Himself.

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

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

Joy, of the Lord. Full Joy, exuding from the Lord’s nearness, quickening the heart, inviting us deeper. As our hearts are cheered with stable, eternal Joy, unaffected by any worldly circumstance, courage is born. A cheerful, courageous heart gives us strength.

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22).

When Joy of eternal quality cheers the heart, a courage and strength of the same type emerges.

How Can The Joy of the Lord Be our Strength?

  • The Joy of the Lord is our strength when we determine to have no joys above Him, no relationship, no possession, no achievement, no security, no delight.
  • The Joy of the Lord is our strength when we recognize all earthy pleasures as coming directly from His heart to us, designed to be enjoyed, not apart from Him, but as part of our enjoyment of Him.
  • The Joy of the Lord is our strength when we recognize that the experience of joy is not an end in itself, but a longing to draw us to God Himself. Joy is an invitation.
  • The Joy of the Lord is our strength when we realize that enjoying God above all earthly delights brings Him glory.

Prayer

Lord, so many things compete for my delight in You. I’m guilty of “requiring” the circumstances of my life to be okay for me to have joy. I’m so sorry. Thank You for showing me that eternal, rock solid joy is found in You at all times. Thank You that as my heart is cheered in You, courage arises. Finding my eternal joy in You, gives me strength for even the most difficult trials. Long time griefs, which seem to have no end, have threatened to discourage and dishearten me. But You are my Joy. When I see this and trust it, my heart is cheered and courage emerges. This gives me strength in these most difficult trials. Thank you dear Lord, my King, my Sovereign, my Joy.

[1] Nehemiah 8:3-6

[2] Nehemiah 8:9

[3] C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, pp. 17–18.

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains