Tag Archives: James

Free from Me

What About Me?

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At the turn of the century, our family went on a short term missions trip to Mexico. During some of our down time, we decided to visit the local market. As we entered, we were amazed at the wide variety of colorful local fare, from flowers, to fruits and vegetables, to intricate crafts. 

Immediately, vendors called their products to our attention for purchase. One of us, I can’t remember who, told them we wanted to look around and that we’d come back.

We spent a good bit of time enjoying the massive amount of tables, reaching deeper and deeper into the space, to the point we almost lost our way back to the front. Most of us bought at least one thing.

Suddenly, it dawned upon us how late it was, so we made our way to the front. As we exited, one of the vendors we first encountered yelled in English, “What about me?”

I felt bad and I’m not even sure we responded, but the question, “What about me?” has become a family catch phrase when one of us wants to insert ourselves.

As I continue to walk this journey with Jesus, the more I realize I’m asking the same question in my heart. What about me? Until recently, I didn’t recognize what a consuming quest this really is.

I know I’m not alone in this inward battle. Our Christian lives are a continual challenge, to live in the realities of Galatians 2:20, the great summary of God’s good news. “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.”

Living a life of “I have been crucified” is not easy.

 I see what happened to two of Jesus’ disciples in Mark 9:35-37,  “James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.’”

They were asking, What about me?

What about me? seems to be built into the fabric of our hearts.

What I want to say is what John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 NASB)

What about me? is such a restricting, narrowing view. It limits the world and chokes my joy.

It’s You Lord! changes the game from introspection on my little kingdom, into full hope upon the glorious kingdom of God, waiting to explode into eternal ecstasy. [1]  

What about me? requires control and strain to produce circumstances which I hope will maintain my happiness. It puts me where God should be and steals any moments of abiding in His gladness.

It’s You Lord! releases care and trusts in a loving God, who is at work in a greater story of making me more like Jesus. [2]

What about me? longs for the love and approval of others. It produces competitiveness, envy and continual effort to be liked and admired by others.

It’s You Lord! produces gratitude and praise, which keeps me peaceful under the yolk of Jesus’ gentle and humble heart. [3]

I desire this change in my heart, the transformation of John the Baptist, more than anything I can think of. But, I know this kind of work is not a self study class. If I’m to move from What about me? to It’s You Lord! it requires the Lord, not me.

Lord, show me in Your word and empower me by Your Spirit to be less about me and more about You.

He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease.

During our family vacation last year, I was walking on the beach talking with my bride about some deep spiritual matters. This was a convergence of three of our very favorite things to do together: be at the beach, walk, and talk about spiritual things. 

As we walked, she said, “We all have swiss cheese hearts.”

This was a striking image as I pictured it and I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Certainly, God has created our hearts with a void only He can fill.  

Examining my own heart, I’ve identified five major holes which I’ve historically tried to fill myself. I know, with Solomon, that trying to fill my eternal holes with anything of this world is vanity of vanities. [4] Yet, I scream What about me? as I try and plug these holes myself. 

Perhaps others can relate.

The Need to Be Admired

In my heart, I see a deep longing to be admired. When people, especially those important to me, make me feel disliked or even hated,  What about me? screams out. The “desired to be admired hole” aches with a painful feeling of being unloved.

It’s You Lord!  points me to the amazing love God has for me, as revealed in His word and in His actions. Though there are many scriptures about God’s incomprehensible love for us, [5] I’ll focus on what Jesus told His disciples the night before He died, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.” (John 15:9)

The eternal love of God is the only thing which can fill my hole to be admired. Expecting this kind of love from others is toxic. It not only binds me to the approval of men, but produces a self-serving love for others, which is not sincere.

Ugh. This is really bad  When What about me? comes to mind about not being admired, I determine to saturated my heart to overflowing with God’s perfect love.

 It’s You Lord!

Lord, You love me with a love I’ll never fully grasp, which fills my heart to overflowing. Please remind me of this when people are mean to me and act hateful.

Resting completely in God’s love

Accepted

In my heart, I see a need to be accepted. When people, especially those important to me, make me feel rejected,  What about me? screams out. The “desired to be accepted hole” aches with a painful feeling of being excluded.

It’s You Lord! points me to what God did for all of His children before the world began:  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6 NASB)

God chose me, to be His child before I was even born. The passage goes on to say that in His love for me, I’ve been lavished with grace, redeemed with His love, and given His Holy Spirit as an installment of my inheritance.

I’ve had some really important people in my life reject me. And the pain does not go away. But it’s a pain of loss, not a loss of value.

No person can define my value, no matter how important. Before I breathed a breath, God called me His own. No person can change that by rejecting me.

It’s You Lord!  

Lord, You’ve accepted me by Your blood. This is what matters. Please help me remember this.

 

Accomplished

In my heart, I see a insatiable need to accomplish things. This drive seems to always be running in the background, to the point that sometimes I have to force myself to relax.

I fight a fear of failure. What about me?  yells that nothing I do is good enough. And there’s the problem in the open. What “I” do.

It’s You Lord! points me to II Corinthians 5:21:  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Me trying to accomplish some righteousness of my own is the very essence of stupidity. Not only is it impossible, (all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God) [5], but it’s an affront to what Christ has done for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2:21 NASB)

Will I fail? Most definitely; every day. But am I a failure? By now means. 

But as for me, I stand on the righteousness of Christ. 

It’s You Lord!

You have given me Your righteousness. You have made me complete, fully accomplished in You. Please help me remember this when  I feel like a failure.

True Value

Affirmed

In my heart, I see a need to be affirmed, to be recognized, to have my achievements pointed out.  What about me? wants my glory to shine.

My, my, my. Me, me me. As I write it’s more than ludicrous. Yet, the temptation rises.

When I think about what Jesus did for me, I realize He wants me to consider myself dead when it comes to my glory. Paul actually wrote this in Colossians 3:3-4: 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.

It’s You Lord! helps me realize I’m hidden in Christ. That’s affirmation enough. It’s His life which is to be celebrated, His glory. Why would a dead man need to be recognized and given credit anyway?

Christ is my life. No need to be individually affirmed. One day, I’ll be revealed with Him in glory. His glory, not mine.

Lord, please help me remember this when I feel the need to be recognized and given credit for anything. No need to strive to be affirmed. I rest in You.

Christ our Life

Appeased

In my heart, I recognize the deep need to be satisfied, for my longings to be appeased. As mentioned before, God put longing in every human heart. [6]

Blaise Pascal wrote, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing, but only by God the creator made known by Jesus Christ.”

What about me? believes I must plug these holes myself. But I can’t.  I’ve tried being admired by people, accomplishing many tasks, being pliable to be accepted, and  competing to be affirmed.

I’m realizing that the sum of these searches for lasting joy only leave my wanting all the more.

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

I now agree with Asaph, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;” (Psalm 73:28a NASB).

And with David, “You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound.” (Psalm 4:7 NASB)

It’s You Lord! is the answer to every hole in my swiss cheese heart.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35 NASB)

These are some holes in my heart which begin with ‘A’. Lord, show me the whole alphabet. (8^>  

Joy, An Experience of God

Unmasking the Lie

Prayer

Lord, I depend upon me so often; even now, after decades of being Your disciple. But You are teaching me to rest in Your yoke. It’s not up to me anymore. It never was.

It’s Your glory, Lord, never mine. When a thought comes to highlight me, please remind me quickly that it’s You.

Lead me, I pray, to quickly disagree with the lies and agree with the truth that I’m complete in You, filled to the brim and overflowing with You in all areas.

In You, I’m always admired, always accepted, fully accomplished, affirmed in Your glory, and fully satisfied by You, my Bread of life. Your rivers of waters completely saturate my thirst. 

You want me free, really free.

Please continue to show me ways I choose me and not You, my will and not Yours.

I must decrease and You must increase.

I love You Lord.

Amen.

Not my Will

Journal Time

With your journal in hand, write down any What about me? areas in your own life. It could be one or more identified above or different ones.

When is it most often manifested?

Write down ways you think your self focus hampers your life.

What difference would it make if God was your focus and not you?

Write a prayer expressing your desires to make a change and be less self focused and more God focused, recognizing the need for the Holy Spirit to enable you. 

If you’re willing, ask Him to continue to reveal self focused ways in you. He will.

Come back to this journal entry often.

[1] Romans 8:18-23

[2] Romans 8:28-29

[3] Matthew 11:28-30

[4] Ecclesiastes 2:11-22

[5] Romans 3:23

[6] Ecclesiastes 3:11

Other Posts in our Rhythms of Joy Series:

Joy is Important Because it’s an Experience of God

The Amazing Connection Between Grace and Joy

Moving from Discouraged to Encouraged

Coming to Terms with Hard Things

Please Check out the  Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.

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

 

Freedom in Pain, God of all Comfort, God's Eternal Purposes, Joy in the Midst

Rhythms: UP (When Things Get Really Hard)

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God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride (Psalm 46:1-3 NASB).

We know the value of receiving and knowing the love of God.

We know the Holy Spirit indwells us to empower us and guide our ways.

We know we’ve been raised up with Christ and given an eternal orientation.

We know God alone is our Highest Joy.

We know loving like Jesus fills our lives with joy.

We’re learning to build our lives around these and other spiritual  fundamentals. However, when things get hard we can lose sight.

 What keeps us courageous during life’s gut punches?

 The Gut Punch

Really hard circumstances can feel like a gut punch. These severe trials, which send us staggering for stable footing, make us feel as if we’ve been swept onto an avalanche of shifting sand.

The death of a loved one, a severed relationship, acute health issue, financial collapse, etc. breed emotional turmoil. These heart breaks threaten our ability to cope with new realities and life’s never ending demands.

Following are a couple of rock-solid truths which hold no matter what. They bring us courage, during even the hardest of times.

Rocks of Stability 

Abiding Nearness

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me (Psalm 23:4a NASB).

When I think of the shadow of death, a scene from  Return of the King,  comes to mind. As the brave trio approached the Haunted Mountain, Tolkien writes, “A dread fell on them, even as they passed between the lines of ancient stones and so came to the Dimholt. There under the gloom of black trees that not even Legolas could long endure they found a hollow place opening at the mountain’s root, and right in their path stood a single mighty stone like a finger of doom.”  [1]

This scene drips with fear, but David assures us in the above Psalm that we can choose not to fear, no matter how thick the darkness. Why? Because God is with us. He is our ever present help, especially in times of trouble. [2]

God is always available to provide abundant comfort in all our afflictions. [3]

Jesus tells us not to be surprised by troubles. They will come. But in Him, we find peace and the courage to endure. These things I have spoken to you so 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)

For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy (Psalm 61:3 NASB).

Amid our toughest times, we receive courage because God will never leave or forsake us.

Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9b NASB).

God is our source of strength, especially in our pain.

The Greater Story 

In our pain, we must understand God’s greater purposes.

Jesus tells us He came to give us abundant life. [4] But is abundant life the same thing as happy, smooth circumstances? Or is it the abundance of Christ’s nearness, like Rivers of Living Water welling up from within?

God wants more for us than a better life. When Paul tells us God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes, he’s referring to something better than good circumstances. God’s purposes for us are to give us the freedom and joy of being conformed us into the image of Christ.  [5] 

There are profoundly sanctifying forces at work when we cling to Jesus in the midst of our pain. In our trials, our grip on lesser loves is loosened, freeing us to fully enjoy our Jesus. 

See what James, Paul and Peter wrote about the redeeming qualities of our afflictions and trials:

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4 NASB).

Trials bring us joy because they develop endurance which leads us to being complete, lacking nothing.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred 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 so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead (II Corinthians 1:8-9 NASB).

Hardships, especially the severe kinds, can cause us to stop trusting in ourselves and put our faith in God who raises the dead.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the  dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,  who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (I Peter 1:3-9 NASB).

As we rejoice in the eternal realities of our living hope, our unfading inheritance and the fact that we’re protected by the power of God, Peter tells us we may be distressed by various trials. He says these trials are necessary to prove our faith, as gold purified by fire. He says they result in inexpressible joy for us and praise and honor to God.

The truths concerning God’s greater purposes in our lives can help give us firm footing when life gets really hard. God is at work in our pain, even if we don’t see it.

Story:

A couple of weeks ago I lost my little sister. Even though we saw the signs mounting, her accelerated death caught us all by surprise. She literally worked the same week she died. 

Her loss has been harder for me than the death of my parents ten years ago.

Even though she was my only sister, I would kid her by saying she was my favorite. Truly she was the best sister anyone could ask for. I can’t think of an argument we ever had during her entire life. Being the two oldest, we were foxhole buddies during the divorce of our parents. She was always there.

Her death is allowing me to access unshed tears from years gone by. Perhaps, for the first time, I’m learning to grieve.

Days after her death I cried out to the Lord in my journal, not knowing how to process my concern for her eternal state and the huge, gapping hole in my heart. I asked Him if He wanted to say anything to me.

In my spirit, I sensed Him  say, “I am enough.” 

No matter how sad I am and how much I grieve, God is enough. He is with me. To the extent I call to Him, especially in my pain, He is and will be my El Shaddai, my All Sufficient One. 

Since then, as I travel this path of grief,  I’m beginning to know God in a deeper way. It seems the greater my pain the greater His sufficiency.

Conclusion

Life is hard. We face troubles. What’s important is how we respond.

Do we keep on going, striving best we can, ignoring what we’re going through?

Do we dedicate ourselves to all manner of false affections which temporarily numb the pain? 

Do we curl up in a fetal position and shut life out?

Or, do we recognize that what we’re going through is no surprise to God. Our God of all comfort is an ever-present help in our affliction. He is near to our broken heart. God can use our pain in marvelous ways we would have never perceived. Like a master surgeon, God is at work to free us to fully enjoy Him.

Prayer

Lord, I don’t grieve well. I don’t know how. I’m sorry for the many times I’ve minimized my pain because I didn’t know what to do with it. But You’re showing my that living with You in my pain gives me an opportunity to know You in uniquely deeper ways.

Please guide my grief of my sister. I miss her so much. Thank You that You are enough, even now.

 Amen.

Personal Study

Highlight II Corinthians 1:3-10 

Explain it in your own words

Apply it to your life

Respond to God in prayer 

[1] The Return of the King, Houghton Mifflin 1956, p. 49

[2] Psalm 46:1-3

[3] II Corinthians 1:3-5

[4] John 10:10

[5] Romans 8:28-29

Previous posts in the UP series:

God’s Amazing Love

God’s Essential Love

What Hides God’s Love

Christ Lives in Me

Raised up with Christ

Who’s your Treasure?

Obtaining the Joy of Jesus 

Orienting Life from Above

.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

The Source of all Joy

How do we Find Joy in Our Journeys?

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Teddy is outwardly friendly and easy to talk to. This afternoon, at the drive through window we struck up a conversation. I mentioned I was a blogger and handed him my card. He asked what my blog is about. I told him I write about finding joy in our journeys. He smiled and said he was my target audience. When he handed me the chicken and rice soup, he smiled and said he’d be reading my blog tonight. It would give him something to do.

Teddy, this one’s for you.

Why do we need joy? We’ve been created with cravings which must be satisfied. These deep longings for completeness are like a ravenous hunger which won’t ease up until we have our fill.[1][2] This internal cavern will only be satisfied by Joy.

But what is Joy and how do we find it? First, we must realize lasting joy can’t be found in circumstances. Consider a person who has all the success, fame, riches and appeal the world has to offer. Wouldn’t that person have joy? History is dotted with folks who had it all but were utterly empty. Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Earnest Hemmingway and Howard Hughes were just a few. Solomon wrote about the empty pursuit of worldly satisfaction in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Happy circumstances will not fulfill our deep longings.

There are strange verses in the Bible which say just the opposite. James[3] and Peter[4] wrote of a joy associated with trials and difficulties. How could this be? Both reveal that once we stop searching for joy in this broken world; once we give up chasing the wind, we’re in position to find Everlasting Joy.

God spoke though the prophet Jeremiah, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.”[5]

Living water, to satisfy our deepest thirst, can be found in God’s nearness. God Himself is the source of all Joy.[6]

But what if life is really hard? What if we’ve said I’ll be okay unless this happens and then it does? What if there’s illness, separation, poverty and loneliness? Where’s the joy then?

There’s a greater story going on, an eternal story which can chase away every tear. Our lives are so short, but eternal Joy can start today. We can’t live good enough lives to be reconciled to God. Going to church, being nice won’t cut it.

Jesus invites us, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.  For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” (Matthew 11:28-30 TPT)

Teddy, you told me you hadn’t been to church in years and you said you didn’t know why. Perhaps you’ve been disillusioned. Maybe life is hard. I’d love to hear about your journey. We didn’t have much time in the drive through line.

Perhaps you’d say as I did, “I need to clean up my life before I can begin a relationship with God.”

Must we take a bath before we take a shower? God wants us just as we are. He’s waiting to give us all Everlasting Joy, even in the midst of life’s sadness.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2nd Corinthians 5:21)

Teddy, how do you find Joy in your Journey? Only one way. Being with the One who created the longing in you in the first place. I hope we can talk more.

Joy is a person.

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[2] Psalm 16:11b

[3] James 1:2-4

[4] I Peter 1:6-8

[5] Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB)

[6] Psalm 16:11b

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

Choosing Joy, Unlocking the Paradox of Joy in Trials

Rejoicing at all Times Doesn’t Make Sense

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What do we Rejoice?

The Bible has commands which just don’t make common sense. They’re out of this world. Commands which require us to take hold of something eternal in order to even comprehend, much more to obey them.

Like this one:  Rejoice Always (I Thessalonians 5:16 NASB.)

Just found out a very good friend of mine 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.

Yet, we’re to rejoice always. Rejoice what? Certainly not our circumstances.

Then what do we rejoice? What can we grab hold of from God’s greater, eternal story to rejoice in? The story God’s writing on human hearts involves far more than just our happy circumstances. We’re complete in Christ[1] and God’s wants us to know it. He’s orchestrating our lives to  free us  from the false affections of a happy life.

Our joy must come from the Lord. We’re to rejoice in Him. And as we joy in Him, the whole world is unlocked for us to enjoy. After all, God created sunsets, puppies, babies, flowers, sex and chocolate. We’re designed to delight in the Lord first, above all else, and then to joy in His creation. If we get the order wrong, let’s be honest, we’re idolaters.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NASB)

What is Rejoicing?

Rejoicing means to be full of joy, to be cheerful, to be exceeding glad and calmly happy.

Let these meanings sink in. Savor them. Allow them to wash over your heart. Imagine being:

  • Full of Joy
  • Cheerful
  • Exceedingly Glad
  • Calmly Happy

Always.

We’ve longed for this quality of glorious satisfaction, but we thought things had to go well in our lives to get there. At least I did.

God is Joy. In His presence, Joy is full.[2] There’s a way to cultivate a lifestyle of rejoicing which isn’t dependent on the shifting sands of day to day living. There’s a way to be full of joy, cheerful, exceedingly glad and calmly happy every moment of every day. It must be possible. God commanded it.

How do we Cultivate a Lifestyle of Rejoicing in the Lord?

What James writes about joy is bizarre, especially if we’re looking for good circumstances to maintain our feelings of well-being:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter varies trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you might be perfect, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 NASB.)

Trials test our faith.  As we learn to celebrate in times of great opposition, endurance grows. Rejoicing brings the intimacy of our Lord into every crevasse of our most difficult situations, flooding our hearts with joy. The more we experience the amazing, paradoxical transformation of grief to gladness by the mere presence of Almighty God, the more we realize we lack nothing. This world doesn’t bring contentment. We’re joyous because He is near.

This isn’t easy.  But, Graham Cooke says no circumstance or person has the power to steal our joy unless we allow it. Even in nightmare scenarios, rejoicing pulls us above the circumstances and our negative mindsets.[3]

Perhaps our goal is not just to get through what we’re experiencing, but to enjoy the presence of the Lord in whatever we’re experiencing. Rejoicing in the Lord always.

Challenge  

Is there a situation or a person which is trying to steal your joy? Will you choose to rejoice in the Lord in spite of what’s going on?

Spend some time now asking for the Lord to cheer your heart with His nearness. Rejoice in Him in spite of how you feel.

Peter writes, “but to the degree that you share the suffering of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (I Peter 4:13 NASB).  

To what degree should we keep on rejoicing? To the degree in which we share in the sufferings of Christ.

To Peter, not only did suffering and rejoicing go hand in hand, there was a direct correlation of one to the other.

Prayer  

Lord, this trial, these trials have been going on so long. You know. Sometimes I lose hope they’ll ever get better. Yet, life keeps coming. It doesn’t stop for us to catch our breaths. These things don’t make me happy, but I’m seeing something glorious happen in spite of them. Your nearness is bringing gladness to every situation. I can rejoice in You and be cheerful even in the miry pit of hopeless dreams. Even when the unthinkable happens, You fill my heart with joy.

 I’m a container of your Joyous Presence. You indwell me.[4] May I yield to your Spirit in every situation that your Joy may flow. Joy inside . Joy overflowing. Rejoicing always, in You.

[1] Colossians 2:10

[2] Psalm 16:11

[3] Times of Refreshing, Graham Cooke

[4] Galatians 2:20

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains