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The connection between Thanksgiving and Joy

Gratitude, Key to a Life of Joy

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What I read felt totally outlandish. How could it be true? A good friend has a mass on their chest. They go in for a biopsy on Thursday. A marriage is in trouble. A job was lost. Relationships are broken. A long-time friend died of a brain tumor. Loved ones are sick. People are in deep emotional pain.

Considering things like this, what I read seems impossible. And it isn’t even a suggestion. It is a command.

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT).

Be thankful in all circumstances?

I do believe God is for me and that His indwelling Spirit enables me to carry out what He commands. But to always be grateful is hard to imagine. How can it be?

How is it Possible to always be Grateful?

To be truly grateful in everything, I must pull my perspective away from my circumstances. I must realize that God has something far richer in mind for me than an easy, comfortable life.

From God’s word, here’s what I know:

I was created with deep longings which can only be satisfied by God Himself.[1]

Delighting in God, enjoying Him, loving Him, and praising Him, satisfies these deep longings. [2]

Pursuing things of this world to satisfy my soul leave me empty and headed for destruction.[3]

God uses all things for my greater benefit, according to His purposes, not mine.[4]

Above all things, God is at work to make me more and more like Jesus.[5]

Following Jesus means His character being formed in me, not by my efforts, but by dependence upon His Spirit within me.[6]

In Jesus’ endurance of the cross, He remained fixed upon God’s greater purposes, even during excruciating pain.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on 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 12:1-2 NASB).

On the cross, Jesus had Joy.

Relational Joy.

 Fueled by His love for His Father and for us, joy strengthened Jesus through unbearable pain. 

No matter what else is going on in our lives, the fact that Jesus, Lord of Lord and King of Kings, values us enough to lay down His life for our relationship with Him, should fill our hearts with overflowing gratitude. And gratitude draws us near to God, the source of all Joy.[7]

Gratitude, the Gateway to Relational Joy

If I’m bemoaning my circumstances, the eternal overshadowing joy of the Lord can never be experienced.

If I’m only measuring how I’m doing by how my life is going, I’ll tend to be ungrateful, and joy will be killed.

God is not absent from my pain. In fact, if I call upon Him, my Ever-Present Help in Trouble [8], His peaceful nearness cleanses and heals deep parts of my heart, untapped when circumstances are easy.

From personal experience, I’m fortified in my troubles when I turn to God for comfort and not the false affections of the world.

Our gratitude for the gifts God gives us, especially everlasting life with Him, invites our soul to develop a posture of thanksgiving. God is good and God is for us. The more we see this, and point everything back to Him in glorious thanksgiving and praise, joy will grow and spill over into rejoicing, come what may.

Practice It

Think about a present trouble in your life. It could be related to health, finances, relationships, busyness, or any number of difficulties in this broken world.

 In the midst our very hard times, God invites us to call on Him as our Comforter in all we face.[9] He is for us. He is near to our broken hearts.[10]

As you receive the comfort of His nearness, thank Him. Thank Him for being with you and for the price He paid for your reconciliation. Realize that especially in your trials, He’s always at work to make you more and more like Jesus.

Ask Him to bring other things to your mind to be grateful for. Develop a habit of giving all thanks and glory to God.

As did Corrie Ten Boom, present all praise from others as fragrant offers back to 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

Prayer

Lord, I’m sorry that I haven’t developed a regular rhythm of thanking You for everything in my life. The more I walk with you, the more I’m convinced that you are for me and that You are at work in every aspect of my life. Please help me thank you for the pleasant times and the heart aches.

Teach me to linger and savor Your life all around. Slow me down to pause and thank You at every turn.

Thank You for the way joy is unleashed when I have a heart of gratitude. When I’m thankful, the joy of my relationship with You explodes in my soul.

Please keep me focused on loving You, thanking You, and loving those You bring my way.

Amen.

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[2] Psalm 37:4

[3] I Timothy 6:9, Matthew 6:19

[4] Romans 8:28

[5] Romans 8:29

[6] Galatians 4:19, Galatians 2:20

[7] Psalm 16:11

[8] Psalm 46:1-3

[9] II Corinthians 1:3-5

[10] Psalm 34:18

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in the Midlands of South Carolina.

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

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

Grasping God's Delight in Us, Oh The Depth of Love

Keep Celebrating the Love of Easter

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We celebrated Easter a couple of days ago. However, Eastern Christianity celebrates Easter next Sunday.[1] So, this might be considered a true Easter week. Not that we need special dates to ponder the central event of the Gospel, but Easter came and went too quickly for me this year. I’m still pondering the stunning discoveries of God’s great love for us poured out on the cross. Deeper dimensions continue to unfold and I don’t want to move on.

Even the most stable human love pales in comparison to God’s great love for us. And when relationships cause unthinkable emotional pain, there’s an invitation to drink deeply of His delight in us. What we discover can set us free from the trappings of offense and allow us to love sacrificially as He’s loved us.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)

The Passion of Christ

Good Friday is also referred to as the “passion of Christ”. Passion is a strange word to describe the murder of Christ, but it fits the Latin origin “passio,” which means enduring suffering. The modern application of the word “passion,” an intense desire, appears disconnected from the original meaning. But the connection has to do with the intensity and endurance of the desire. The root word, “patio” expresses the idea of being moved to action where there is pain and suffering.

Jesus was moved to action in the midst of unimaginable pain. His desire was to endure suffering for our sakes, even though He could have chosen otherwise.

Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53 NASB)

Jesus’ intense desire was for us, motivating Him to endure indescribable pain.

Excruciating Pain

To understand Jesus’ suffering for us, consider the Romans used iron nails up to seven inches long driven into the victim’s wrist and ankles to fasten him to the wood.

The nails pounded through the wrists would have crushed the median nerve, the largest nerve going to the hand, causing indescribable pain. “The pain was absolutely unbearable,” says Dr. Metherell. “In fact, it was literally beyond words to describe; they had to invent a new word: excruciating. Literally, excruciating means ‘out of the cross.’”[2]

Nails driven through the ankles would have produced similar pain. And there was the unmerciful beatings and flesh flying scourging leading up to the cross.

There was no existing word to describe the suffering Jesus Christ was willing to endure on our behalf. His passion for us was excruciating.

The Lord was Pleased to Crush Him

But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering (Isaiah 53 10:b NASB)

This speaks again of God’s great desire to purchase our eternal fellowship with Him.

Pleased to crush Him. These words really have no place to land in my heart. How could God be pleased to have His Son crushed and broken for any reason? Could we agree to this for any of our children for any reason? Of course not. Yet, he wished this for His Son on our behalf.

For the Joy Set Before Him

let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on 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 12:1b-2 NASB).

What was the joy set before Jesus which motivated His endurance of the Cross?

As I ponder the question, I know the answer. Rescuing us from eternal separation was the joy set before Jesus. We bring Jesus joy; so much joy it motivated Him to endure the unthinkable.

The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).

The Lord actually delights to be with us. We cause Him to rejoice and shout for joy. Don’t read quickly past this. Allow it to sink past all the pains of human hurts and anchor your soul.

It bring the Lord joy just being with you.

God’s Delight in Us

So Jesus’ intense passion for us motivated Him to endure excruciating pain to rescue us. Seeing His eternal fellowship with us gave Him joy which fueled His passion and endurance. God’s delight in us is so great He was pleased to have His son crushed on our behalf. Being with us brings God joy.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the many love messages we find in Easter. Your love swallows up all the pain of human offences. In light of your great delight in us, hurtful human actions are as grains of sand at the bottom of Your ocean of love.

When your love is hidden from me, please destroy all fortresses and strongholds which raise themselves up in an attempt to hide you.[3] You are love.

I’m only beginning to grasp the far reaching extent of Your delight in me. Please keep showing me that Your love may flow through me.

I rejoice in You this moment. May my life be a constant praise to You. Amen.

 

[1] Eastern Christianity uses the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian. For this reason, Easter sometimes falls on a different date. This is the case in 2019.

[2] https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions…/what-is-the-lords-passion

[3] II Corinthians 10:3-5

 

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains