Tag Archives: rhythms

The Source of all Joy

(The Everlasting Way) Treasure That Never Fades

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Disillusioned. Hopes crushed. What I thought would bring deep happiness left me disheartened, disappointed, and empty. 

This describes several “low” points in my life. 

I see now how I’d set my affections on God’s benefits rather than on God Himself. But now I see these hard times as severe mercies. Each disappointment further dislodging my entrenched disillusionment that the things of this world, even the finer ones, could bring me the deep fulfillment and joy I longed for.

What every human must come to realize is that only God Himself brings us the lasting satisfaction we all so desperately need.

From time to time, I still struggle. I put feeling good and having worldly peace above God Himself. But more and more, these struggles are short-lived. God is awakening me and bringing me back to the knowledge that NOTHING fully satisfies me but HIM. 

The Heart of the Matter

Baked into the heart of every human is the unaltered desire to find a lasting joy to satisfy our empty souls. This longing, this need for satisfaction, is so strong most never give up the quest. The problem is that we so often look for satisfaction in all the wrong places.

The Rolling Stones sung about the futile attempt to find lasting satisfaction when looking in the wrong places.

I can’t get no satisfactionI can’t get no satisfactionGonna try and I try and I try and I tryI can’t get no –I can’t get no –  [2]

King Solomon tried all manner of worldly delights to satisfy his emptiness. [3] Denying himself nothing he saw around him, he concluded that it was all “vanity and striving after the wind.”  Ecclesiastes 2:11b 

Trying everything, but failing to find joy, Solomon was left hopeless and despondent. “I hated life, for the work which has been done under the sun was grievous to me, because everything is futility and striving after wind.”  Ecclesiastes 2:17 

He would later conclude that God has set eternity in the hearts of men. [4] Solomon had the means to attempt anything the world had to offer to fill his need for satisfaction. None of it worked. At the end of his search, he hated life because he recognized the utter futility of trying to fill the eternal hole in his heart with anything around him.

God designed our hearts for joy. We’re to be fulfilled by God Himself, fullness of all joy [5], not in having a better life.

Until we realize genuine joy and fulfillment comes from God Himself, our lives will be endless pursuits of fleeting, temporal, pleasure which lead only to idols and addictions.

We must all ask ourselves: What is our treasure?

Is there something we’re looking forward to, or hoping for, which we believe will finally bring fulfillment and lasting happiness? 

  • Completing college?
  • Getting married?
  • Buying a house?
  • Getting out of debt?
  • Getting promoted at work?
  • Having children?
  • Starting a business?
  • Publishing a book?
  • Having good health?
  • Having grandchildren?
  • Retiring?
  • Winning the lottery?

These can be good things, but will they provide lasting fulfillment?

Desiring happiness is not a bad thing, but true joy is a byproduct of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s built into us by our Intelligent Designer, God Himself.

But how can we walk in a growing awareness that God Himself is our Highest Joy when the world, the flesh, and the devil are all working overtime to convince us otherwise?

Awakened

Let’s consider the following verse from Psalm 37 written by David as an old man. [6]

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

Said a different way, if we seek God as our delight, our longing hearts will be satisfied. – Wisdom from an aged man.

We see this amazing truth other places in Scripture as well:

God Himself is our glorious reward. Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward (Genesis 15:1b NIV).

We fully experience joy when we are in the presence of God. In Your presence is fullness of joy; (Psalm 16:11b)

Jesus satisfies our deep hunger and thirst. 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).

If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’ (John 7:37b-38).

Chew on these and other truths from Scripture, which tell us God Himself will fill us to overflowing with lasting satisfaction. Ask Him to make these words come alive in your heart so that they will progressively govern how you live each moment.

Prayer

Lord, it’s so amazing that You created me for fellowship with You. It’s profoundly simple that the key to life is being with You. Yet it’s also so difficult when my heart drifts to what I see around me.

But You are showing me more and more, in the depths of my soul, how complete I am in You. I can now rest and enjoy who You are, no matter what I face. Thank You for the loving way You show me when I stray – tenderly pointing me back to You.

By Your Spirit, please keep me on the path of seeking You as my Treasure every moment of every day.

Amen.

Reflections

Where are we headed? What’s our aim? What motivates our heart as our treasure?

We long for our lives to go smoothly. We want our bills paid, good health, reliable belongings, and harmony with those who matter most. These are fantastic things, though we have to take the following into account.

These desires for our circumstances to go smoothly rarely turn out as we hope.

And, even if they did, our hearts long for something far deeper. 

Let’s recognize now that God Himself is Who we’ve been searching for all our lives. He’s our Reward, our Pearl of Great Price, the Bread of Life, our Rivers of Living water filling and refreshing our souls to overflowing.

We need to believe this and ask God to continually point us to the reality that He’s our Highest Joy.

When we long for lesser treasures, may we quickly become aware, acknowledge it, confess it, and turn our hearts back to seeking Him above all else.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

[1] I first heard this term from a book entitled A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken

[2] (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Song by the Rolling Stones

[3] Ecclesiastes 2:1-10

[4] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[5] Psalm 16:11b

[6] Psalm 37:25

Please consider leaving a comment. Thank You.

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.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995 Version of the Bible.

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man

Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love

Minding Your Busyness

Our Deepest Longings Filled

Rules Don’t Rule

Mice in the Sock Drawer

Turning Gainers into Drainers

Until the Darkness Fades

Courage Rising

Recovering

Celebrating with Joy – In Memory of a Friend

Dying to Self

Loving without Expecting Anything in Return

We are Barabbas

The Joy of Being Poured Out

Like a Child: The Way Back to Wonder

Loving Like Joe

You Might Want to Pull Over

 

 

Rob Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

Connecting Love and Joy

(The Everlasting Way) Mice in the Sock Drawer

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I remember a tough day in the early nineties when our kids were small. My wife had just found a nest of mice in her sock drawer. We had a broken dryer. I had some high-priority work issues, along with the normal challenges of parenting four children.

After eliminating the mice, I was hanging up our wet towels and blue jeans on the clothesline, trying to plan how to fix all the brokenness.

Then it hit me,  like an apple plopping on Isaac Newton’s head. 

The temporal nature of the issues with the mice, the dryer, and my work problems were less important than how my wife and I weathered the stress these difficulties had on our relationship.

She was in acute anxiety over finding rodents in our room. She should be my focus, not trying to fix things.

Our relationship, and how I loved her through the difficulties, was much more important than solving the problems. 

When I finished hanging up the clothes, I sat down to unpack what seemed to be a huge paradigm shift in my thinking.

Shouldn’t relationships and loving be my focus?

I think ladies think more this way than we men. 

Perhaps the duties and the problems were more like opportunities to love and not the main thing.

I remembered Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees, as found in Matthew 22:36-40: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  

Then I thought of the Ten Commandments and how they are all about loving God and loving others.

Since then, though I’ve forgotten the focus for sizeable chunks of time, I’ve been intentional about trying to have a love-first mindset.

I will testify that when this focus is operating as it should, I have unexplainable joy, like Jesus.

The Joy of Jesus

But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions” (Hebrew 1:8-9).

God anointed Jesus with the oil of gladness (exultation and extreme joy). 

As we grow in our knowledge of God being our Highest Joy, we see how Jesus’ glad heart strengthened Him and gave Him courage. And we see how we’re fueled by the nearness of Jesus and His joy.

What can we learn about His Joy and how it flows from how we love?

The Joy of Relationships

Relating – a connection between.

Out of the depths of love within the Trinity, man was created and given the breath of life. God created us for fellowship and relationship. And as amazing as it seems, God delights in our connection with Him.

In fact, Zephaniah writes that our connection with Him causes the Lord to rejoice with shouts of joy. [1] We actually bring joy to God.

This helps bring clarity to the following verses in Hebrews: 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, 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)

Knowing His death on our behalf would re-establish our broken relationships with God because of our sins, gave Jesus joy which fueled His endurance on the cross. 

Consider Jesus’ words to His disciples the night before He went to the cross: 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  (John 15:10-12)

His command – love others as He’s loved us.

The outcome – we’ll remain in His Love and experience His complete Joy.

It may seem strange from an earthly perspective, but experiencing the complete Joy of Jesus has everything to do with our sacrificial love.

Love and Joy closely connect. They appear together at the beginning of Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit. [2]

True, lasting joy doesn’t spring from earthly happenings, but from the depth of love in our relationships.

Prayer

Lord, You’ve awakened me to the tight connection between love and joy. Thank You.

Please stop me quickly when I forget and try once again to derive my feelings of being okay from my circumstances.

Please keep my heart in a love-first mode, realizing all along that any loving I do must come from You. I pray the people I love would recognize You in every word and deed directed by You.

Amen.

Reflection

Joy marked Jesus’ life. 

As mentioned in the verses above, Jesus gave His disciples the secret to staying in His great Love and experiencing His complete Joy – loving others as He’s loved us – sacrificially. 

Paul also experienced the joy of sacrificial love. He equated joy with being poured out like a drink offering. 

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me (Philippians 2:17-18). 

Paul called the people of Thessalonica his glory and joy: For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy (I Thessalonians 2:19-20).

He also commands us to be full of joy in our worship of the Lord.

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

Joy, which satisfies our longing hearts, doesn’t come from fighting for ourselves. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Our joy comes directly from how we love.

[1] Zephaniah 3:17

[2] Galatians 5:22-23

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995 version of the Bible. The cover picture was generated by AI.

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man

Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love

Minding Your Busyness

Our Deepest Longings Filled

Rules Don’t Rule

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

Fears Chased Away, Loved to Love, Rooted and Grounded

(The Everlasting Way) Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love

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Raymond had given up. It seems he’d failed at every opportunity in life. Though he was still a young man, his hopes were drained. What he’d always wanted to do was help people, but now he couldn’t even help himself.

His meager inheritance from his dad yielded only enough money for a semester in college. And when he missed the filing deadline to receive a grant, he’d have to drop out and move out of his dorm. 

After receiving the news, he stopped for a while at his mom’s grave, who’d committed suicide when he was seven. Going on in the grave yard, he found his dad’s grave, dug almost a year ago. He was a consummate entrepreneur, always on the brink of something big. He had such high hopes for his latest discoveries and was sure he could use what he’d developed to make a difference, to help those in desperate need. But a stroke cut his life and dreams short. 

Now, his only child was the one in desperate need.

Raymond sat down on a bench, buried his head in his hands and wept. A feeling of emptiness and poverty filled his soul.

“Raymond Anderson?”

Raymond opened his eyes to find an elderly black man standing over him. 

“Yes.”

“Someone instructed me to give you this,” he said, handing Raymond a legal-sized brown envelope.

Raymond received the envelope, noticing there was no return address – just his name.

“Who’s it from?” Raymond asked, looking up. But the man was gone.

He opened the envelope and began to read:

Mr. Raymond Anderson,

I’m delighted to inform you that shortly before your father passed away, a large corporation purchased his patent right out. Based on the terms of the contract and his will, which I drew up for him as his lawyer, you have received $500,000,000 as his sole heir. He has also designated you as his benevolence agent to give away another $500,000,000 to the charities and needs of your choice. Even though this money has been at your disposal for almost a year, your father instructed me to wait until now to let you know.

Please come by my law office as soon as you can so we can meet and begin turning over the funds to you.

Sincerely,
Walter H. James

Being Made Aware

Raymond suddenly became aware of his possessions and grand purpose. This knowledge changed everything about his life. He had a mission he could wake up to every morning.

As believers in Jesus Christ, a change in our awareness could have even greater ramifications on our lives than Raymond had. In our case, what we need to be aware of is beyond change and corruption.

God’s love.

What are some ways that an awareness of God’s love for us can transform our lives?

God’s Love Drives out Fear

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (I John 4:18).

As I examine my heart, fear is the root of much of my sin. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of poverty. Fear of unhappiness. Fear of . . . 

Fear causes worry and robs me of peace, which is essential. 

In the above verses, John writes about a perfect love flowing from God, which drives out fear. To the degree that we realize God’s amazing love for us, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.

As I ponder these truths concerning God’s perfect love, different nagging fears come to mind, particularly fear of failure and fear of rejection. These fears have sometimes sent me down destructive paths. But more and more, the reality of a love that literally casts out fear is growing in my heart.

As I write, I imagine a life with no fear. Fearless. Oh, the freedom! Oh, the joy! And it’s not just something to wish for. God’s perfect love is genuine, the destroyer of all fears. 

God’s Love Enables Our Obedience

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NASB)

These verses summarize the Bible, instructing us first to love.

We love, because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

But our love must originate with His love for us,

Because God loves us, we are able to love Him and others.

God’s love for us empowers and guides us. Like a cart being pulled along by a horse (God’s love), our works of obedience (loving) flow from His love for us.

It’s not the other way around. Our obedience doesn’t gain God’s love. That’s like putting the cart before the horse and horses make terrible cart pushers. 

God’s love for us gives us the ability to obey His commands to love.

God’s Love Roots and Grounds Us

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19 NASB)

God’s love for us surpasses our knowledge. It’s beyond our understanding and our intellect. Paul prays we might grasp the superlative dimensions of God’s love in our hearts. What does not fit in our heads can dwell in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it. 

God’s love roots us and grounds us, establishing a firm foundation for our lives. When God’s surpassing love is revealed and made real to us, our souls are increasingly secured against the storms and trials of life.

Prayer

Lord, may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I bathe in it. Thank You for chasing away my every fear with Your perfect love. Please remind me quickly when fears arise. Thank you that Your love enables me to love You. May I receive Your love and give it away.  Thank You for delighting in being with me. Please help me grasp Your love more and more. Steady my heart on the firm foundation of Your delight in me. Amen.

Reflections

Previously, in Embracing God’s Amazing Love, we established that God’s love for us:

  • Cannot be altered by anything in this world, whether seen or unseen.

  • Motivated Him to rescue us through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ

  • Is modeled by Jesus’ love for us.

In this post we learn that God’s love for us:

  • Chases away ALL our fears

  • Is our source of love, enabling us to love

  • Roots and grounds our soul, no matter what we go through

In today’s world of disunity and hatred, it’s essential to realize God’s love for us every day, in every way

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995. Photos generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

Eternal, Unparalleled

(The Everlasting Way) Embracing God’s Amazing Love

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It’s an especially hot, mid-summer morning, even for South Carolina. Today, there’s a bit of a break in the humidity. With the ceiling fan whirling at full speed, I’m writing on our newly constructed porch.

The old one, built on our septic tank by the previous owners, was collapsing. So, it had to be demolished and rebuilt. We love our new one. The ceiling is higher, and the floor raised, making it feel more like an extension of our house.

Jack, our twenty-month-old Aussie “puppy” is with me, as always. 😊

The low hum of cicadas dominates my hearing, even above the running water from our man-made mountain brook beside the porch. The sounds remind me of my childhood summers in the Upstate. My dad and grandfather built a water fall as well.

Divisions and hatred dominate the world these days.

Hard things are happening, much more than I can remember when I was growing up. I’m astounded at the number of shootings, natural disasters, and plane crashes throughout the world.

If we don’t grasp an overall, eternal perspective, we can easily get caught up in the madness and lose hope.

Love 

When it comes right down to it, we must build our lives on love.

From Jesus: 37 And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’ (Matthew 22:37-40)

And after washing His disciple’s feet, Jesus said, 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.  (John 13:34-35).

And a bit later that same night, He said, This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

Grasping the magnitude of God’s amazing love for us is not just informational, it’s to become a growing realization. Beginning with grasping His love for us: We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19)

What should we know about God’s love for us?

God’s Love for Us is Everlasting

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3)

How do we get our head and heart around everlasting love?

‘Ahabah,’ the Hebrew word for everlasting love, describes a love which is beyond anything physical or any aspect of our soul, which people describe as our mind, will and emotions.

Nothing can alter God’s eternal, unconditional love for us. It outshines every war, every illness, every natural disaster. No choice, thought, or feeling can change the quality of God’s love for us. 

Pause for a moment and let this sink in.

As believers, God chose to love us before the world began. [1]

God’s Love Rescues Us

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:8-10)

Before our deliverance, we were apart from God, facing eternal darkness, with no ability to change our situation. In our helpless state, while we were still hostile toward Him, God rescued us. And He did it by sending His Son, who lived a perfect life, to die in our stead.

Please don’t allow the familiarity of this great news to cheapen the impact!

We were hostile and helpless, but God, out of His unparalleled love, gave His Son to save us.

And not only did God’s love for us save us from His wrath through Jesus’ death, but much more He is now healing us, and making us whole by His life, which indwells us by His Holy Spirit.

He is always at work for our ultimate good according to His purposes: to free us from ourselves and to make us more like Jesus. [2]

Jesus Loves Us as Much as God Loves Him

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9)

As much as God loves Jesus, He loves us. How can this really be? It seems unimaginable. Yet, Jesus said it. It is true!

Don’t rush past this. Remain in the truth of Jesus’ abiding love. 

Story: If you’ve seen the movie Twister, the last scene is powerful. A raging tornado blows a building completely away. But because they strapped themselves to a pipe secured underground, the pipe saved the main characters.

God’s love is like that. He’s got us.

But we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [3] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, established before the world began, we can choose to disobey.

As believers, the strap of His love holds, but Jesus desires us to walk in the fellowship of His peace and joy. We can only do this by relying on His Holy Spirit and walking in obedience.

By His Spirit, we love.

Prayer

Lord, I’ll never fully comprehend the extent of Your love for me. It’s beyond my ability to comprehend.

However, because You describe it in Your word, I believe it and want to walk in it.

Though Your love doesn’t fit in my head, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life.

Amen.

Reflections

As believers we rest in Christ’s finished work for us on the cross.

A first step in prioritizing and nurturing our relationship with our Lord is gazing upon Him and beginning to grasp the magnitude of His great love for us. 

God’s love has an eternal quality that keeps it from being affected by anything of this world, seen or unseen.

Even when we were against God, His love for us moved Him to send His own Son to die in our place, rescuing us and making us whole.

As much as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us, and we’re called to walk in the fellowship of His love.

[1] Ephesians 1:4-5

[2] Romans 8:29

[3] Romans 6:1-2

Unless otherwise specified, all verses are from the New American Standard Bible – NASB

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

 

Addicted to Pleasing People

(In the Moments) Done with People Pleasing

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My first year of Little League was a bust. I couldn’t connect with even an eleven-year-old fastball. Though our team won the championship, I felt like a worthless hindrance. By obligation, Coach Goodnight would send me to the plate, once every game or so, to take my three swings and sit down.

I felt like giving up, but I loved baseball. During the offseason, I spent a lot of time working on my eye hand coordination and improving my bat speed.

I imagine seeing me at tryouts the following year didn’t thrill Coach Goodnight. But, to my delight, my training paid off. I could connect on pitches, even from a twelve-year-old. He assigned me the starting second baseman role because I was a decent fielder.

One Saturday morning, as we warmed up for one of our home games, I saw that Pop, my paternal grandfather, had joined my mother in the stands. This delighted me and I especially wanted to play well.

Runners were on first and second when my first at-bat occurred. I can still picture the details in my mind over fifty years later. I swung hard at the first pitch. It was an outside, so being a right-handed batter, the ball lined between the first and second basemen, heading for the fence. As I rounded first base, I kept running past second and headed for third. I slid in ahead of the tag for a triple, driving in two runs.

It wasn’t a Mickey Mantle home run, but I couldn’t have been more excited. When the dust cleared and I stood on third base, I looked up into the crowd and singled out Pop.  He had a huge grin on his face, wildly clapping. He was proud of me.

People Pleasing

There certainly is a place for pleasing those we cherish. As children, parental acceptance and love are important, but we can easily equate our performance with our value. After all, we learn from an early age how our achievements bring us favor. Passing marks in school means we get promoted to the next grade. Doing well during tryouts earns us a part in the play. Obeying our parents keeps us from being punished.

It’s easy to conclude that what we do determines how much we’re loved. But this contradicts the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul rebuked the Galatians sharply concerning their works-righteous “gospel,” particularly their people-pleasing.

As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

 For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ (Galatians 1:9-10 NASB).

Focused on Christ

We’re to live Godly lives but not to earn affection. Only God’s approval is necessary, and Jesus took care of that for us. Our right standing with God is based on what Christ has done, not on anything we could ever accomplish. [1]

Jesus modeled a life of setting aside His own will and living only to please His Father [2]. This focus freed Him from being bound by the actions and opinions of men. Resting in His Father’s love, Jesus didn’t need to depend on the opinions of men. And neither do we.

But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because He knew all people, and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in mankind (John 2:24-25 NASB).

Challenge

Do you, like me, sometimes struggle with equating your value with how others see you? Perhaps, like my first year of little league, you feel worthless because of your performance. A counselor once told me that depending on what others think of you is like handing an identity box to someone else, a boss, a spouse, a friend. When we do this, we give them power to assess our value.

God adopted us into His family as His children. Hidden in Christ Jesus [4], united with Him.  In Christ, we already please God.

As believers, we’re left with a fundamental change. We must leave behind our dependence upon others for approval. We live now only to please our Father God. And, as we rest in Christ, His life in us is what pleases God.

Spend some time evaluating how you see yourself. You may be believing lies from long ago that the enemy is using to keep you in bondage and steal your joy. Your value is not in what people think about you. You’re not what you accomplish or the lies you believe about yourself. The truth of the matter is that you are what God thinks about you. As believers in Jesus Christ, we rest in God’s eternal, never changing love for us. 

His perfect love casts out all fear, all of it. [5]

We get to set aside all worries of what people think of us and live every moment for our Audience of One, knowing his love and acceptance knows no bounds.

Prayer

Lord, as I picture Pop smiling and cheering me on that day so many years ago, I remember that You delight in me even more than he did. [6] Help me rest in Your love and acceptance, no matter how folks treat me. I trust in You alone. I release my addiction to worrying about what people think of me, my fear of letting folks down.

Help me never to depend upon any human for my well-being. May I continually trust in You alone.

Please keep me focused on You throughout each day. When I stray from living only for You, please remind me quickly.

Amen.

[1] II Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:4-7

[2] John 5:30

[3] Ephesians 1:3-10

[4] Colossians 3:3

[5] I John 4:18

[6] Zephaniah 3:17

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

The Joy of Waiting

On the Fifth Day God Created Dog

When Things get Really Hard

A No Lose Situation, Even with Cancer

Hey Pop

Mustering Our Faith

Lord, You’ve Got to this. I Can’t

Better Than Life

Lord, if You are with us, why are all these things happening?

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

 

God's Eternal Purposes, God's Greater Story

(In the Moments) If God is with us, why are These Things Happening?

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While sitting in a dungy cell, John the Baptist shifted from pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God to wondering if another should be expected.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3 NASB).

Jesus responded, telling John’s disciples to report to him that blind folks were seeing, the lame were walking, lepers were being cleansed, the dead were being raised, and the good news of the gospel was being preached to the poor. [1]

Then He said, “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me,” (Matthew 11:6 NASB).

Others have had similar confusion.

After the angel of the Lord said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.”  (Judges 6:12 NASB) He asked, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13b NASB)

Since God is good and powerful, it seems natural to expect His presence to produce pleasant times. 

During our hard times, how do we keep from stumbling and keep on trusting? How do we keep on obeying and not become discouraged?

Blessed Are Those Who Don’t Take Offense

Jesus’ message to John the Baptist about folks being blessed when they don’t take offense at Him lets us know it’s possible to see things differently.

But how?

We get some ideas by reading what a couple of Jesus’ disciples wrote after years of following Him.

Peter

In fear of his life, Peter denied Christ three times, even with a curse. [2] Though he was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, he hadn’t yet grasped how God can use hard times to achieve something far greater than carefree days. 

Around 40 years later, he wrote the following verses: In this (the fact that we have a constant hope, an inheritance which will never fail, and are guarded by God) 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 1:6-9 NASB).

Through these years, God had been at work, through Peter’s own trials, to give him a new view of God’s ways for His children. 

Peter learned that trials may be required to prove our faith and deepen our trust in God, that eventually these trials will cause praise, glory, and honor. He also learned that even during trials, there’s a significant reason for us to rejoice and have expressible joy.

Peter’s transformation is a miracle. And God is at work in us to achieve something similar. 

Paul

Until Jesus radically intervened in his life, Paul thought he was doing God’s bidding by killing Christians. 

Like Peter, Christ taught Paul how hard times can deepen his trust and build his relationship with God.

See what he wrote in 2nd Corinthians 1:8-9, “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. 

It’s difficult to see the good when things are really hard, but Paul saw it took utter despair for him to learn to stop trusting in himself. The situation was so dire, he could only cry out to God. As a result, his faith grew.

Challenge

Like John the Baptizer, Gideon, Peter and Paul, we have and will face circumstances which seem beyond our abilities to endure.

What trial(s) are you going through right now?

Are you aware of God’s greater purpose for His children? He wants more for us than just happy circumstances.

When Paul tells us that God is working in all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes, he’s referring to something better than a tranquil life. God’s purposes are to give us the freedom and joy of being conformed into the image of Christ. [3] 

There are profoundly sanctifying forces at work when we cling to Jesus during our pain. Trials loosen our grip on lesser loves, freeing us to fully enjoy Jesus, who never leaves us.

Trials can bring us joy because they develop endurance, which leads us to becoming complete, lacking nothing. They can show us we don’t need a life of ease to be joyful. [4]

Prayer

Lord, I’m sorry for ever assuming that being with You meant my life would be easy. I recognize that Your nearness is my good, not smooth circumstances, “For me, the nearness of God is my good.” (Psalm 73:28)

I know You love me and that You want me to enjoy the moments of my life with You, no matter what I face.

Though I would have never chosen the present trials in my life, I’m amazed at how I love You with greater ferocity because You’re using them to dislodge idols from my heart.

Please continue to show me anything and anyone I’ve chosen instead of You. Free me of these, I pray.

I love you.

  Amen

[1] Matthew 11:2-5

[2] Matthew 26:74

[3] Romans 8:28-29 

[4] James 1:2-4

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

The Joy of Waiting

On the Fifth Day God Created Dog

When Things get Really Hard

A No Lose Situation, Even with Cancer

Hey Pop

Mustering Our Faith

Lord, You’ve Got to this. I Can’t

Better Than Life

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

 

Marlee and me in Pompano Beach, Florida.

(In the Moments) When Things Get Really Hard

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A few years ago, I lost my little sister. Although we noticed increasing signs, her rapid death still surprised us. She literally worked the same week she died. 

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

Even though she was my only sister, I would tell her 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. Except once when she disapproved of the girl I was dating.

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. 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, gaping 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. I call out to Him, especially in my pain. He is and always will be my El Shaddai, my All-Sufficient One. 

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

What I’m Learning

There’s great value in:

  • Knowing the love of God.

  • Knowing the Holy Spirit indwells us to empower us and guide our ways.

  • Knowing we were raised with Christ and given an eternal perspective.

  • Knowing God alone is our Highest Joy.

  • Knowing that loving like Jesus fills our lives with joy.

Rocks of Stability 

Nearness

Because God is with me, I don’t fear, though the shadow of death doesn’t leave me.

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).

Comfort

God is always available to provide abundant comfort in all my afflictions. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ (II Corinthians 1:3-5 NASB).

Peace and Courage

Jesus tells me not to be surprised by troubles. They will come. But in Him, I 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).

In my toughest times, I receive courage because God will never leave or forsake me.

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).

The Greater Story 

Jesus tells me that He came to give me abundant life. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10 NASB).

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 me 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 purpose for me is to give me the freedom and joy of being conformed into the image of Christ.  

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:28-29 NASB).

There are profoundly sanctifying forces at work when I cling to Jesus in my pain. Trials loosen my grip on lesser loves, freeing me to fully enjoy Jesus. 

Conclusion

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

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

Do we dedicate ourselves to many 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 afflictions. He is near to our broken hearts. God can use our pain in marvelous ways we would have never perceived. Like a master surgeon, God is at work to free us and to allow 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 me that living with You in my pain gives me an opportunity to know You in uniquely deeper ways.

Thank You for the great comfort I receive in Your nearness, especially as I suffer loss.

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

 Amen.

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

The Joy of Waiting

On the Fifth Day God Created Dog

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

Addiction to Pleasing People

Pleasing Pop (Republished In the Moments)

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My first year of Little League was a bust. I couldn’t connect with even an eleven-year-old fastball. Though our team won the championship, I felt like a worthless hindrance. By obligation, Coach Goodnight would send me to the plate, once every game or so, to take my three swings and sit down.

I felt like giving up, but I loved baseball. During the offseason, I spent a lot of time working on my eye hand coordination and improving my bat speed.

When I showed up for tryouts the following year, I imagine Coach Goodnight couldn’t have been thrilled to see me. But, to my delight, my training paid off. I could connect on pitches, even from a twelve-year-old. And, since I was a decent fielder, I was assigned the role of starting second baseman.

One Saturday morning, as we warmed up for one of our home games, I saw that Pop, my paternal grandfather, had joined my mother in the stands. This delighted me and I especially wanted to play well for him.

There were runners on first and second base when I came to bat for my first plate appearance. I can still picture the details in my mind, over fifty years later. I swung hard at the first pitch. It was a bit outside, so being a righthanded batter, the ball lined between the first and second basemen, heading for the fence. As I rounded first base, I decided to keep running past second and head for third. I slid in ahead of the tag for a triple, driving in two runs.

It wasn’t a Mickey Mantle home run, but I couldn’t have been more excited. When the dust cleared and I stood on third base, I looked up into the crowd and singled out Pop.  He had a huge grin on his face, wildly clapping. He was proud of me.

People Pleasing

As I think back on that moment and others like it, I see how important it is for us to please those we care about. As children, parental acceptance and love is important, but we can easily equate our performance with our value. After all, we learn from an early age how our achievements bring us favor. Passing marks in school mean we get promoted to the next grade. Doing well during tryouts earns us a part in the play. Obeying our parents keeps us from being punished.

It’s easy to conclude that what we do determines how much we’re loved. But this is in direct contradiction to the  good news of Jesus Christ. Paul said some very stern things to the Galatians about their tendencies to follow a “gospel” of works righteousness, especially for the purpose of people pleasing.

As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

 For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ (Galatians 1:9-10 NASB).

Focused

We’re to live Godly lives but not to earn affection. Only God’s approval is necessary. Our right standing with God is based on what Christ has done, not on anything we could ever accomplish. [1]

Jesus modeled a life of setting aside His own will and living only to please his Father [2]. This focus freed Him from being bound by the actions and opinions of men. Resting in His Father’s love, Jesus freely and lovingly washed Judas and Peter’s feet, men who would betray and deny Him. [3]

Jesus was fully aware of God’s great love for Him, so He didn’t need to depend on the opinions of men. And neither do we.

But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because He knew all people, and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in mankind (John 2:24-25 NASB).

As Christians, we’ve been adopted into God’s family as His children [4]. Were hidden in Christ Jesus [5], united with Him.  In Christ, we please God already.

and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8:8-9a NASB).

As believers, we’re left with a huge paradigm shift. We must leave behind our dependence upon others for approval. We live now only to please our Father God. And, as we rest in Christ, His life in us is what pleases God.

We get to set aside all worries of what people think of us and live every moment for our Audience of One.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,  knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (Colossians 3:23-24 NASB).

Prayer

Lord, as I picture Pop smiling and cheering me on that day so many years ago, I remember that You delight in me even more than he did. [6] Help me to rest in Your love and acceptance, no matter how folks treat me. I trust in You alone. I release my addiction to worrying about what people think of me.

I know I can’t successfully focus on You without You. Help me never to depend upon any human for my well-being. May I continually trust in You alone.

Please keep me focused on You throughout each day.  When I stray from living only for You, please remind me quickly.

Amen.

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)

[1] II Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:4-7

[2] John 5:30

[3] John 13

[4] Ephesians 1:3-10

[5] Colossians 3:3

[6] Zephaniah 3:17

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

What About Me?

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

 

Free from Me

What About Me? (Published in Rhythms of Joy)

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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

 

God's Eternal Purposes, God's Greater Story

If God is With us, Why are These Things Happening? (Republished In the Moments)

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It’s a fair question.

Why do difficult things happen to us even, in the midst of God’s presence?

Many an unbeliever has considered themselves on firm ground with this question. And they like to stoke up others into agreement.  It’s a perplexing dilemma which gives pause to even the most faithful follower of Jesus.

John the Baptist, sitting in a dungy cell, went from pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God, to wondering if another should be expected.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3 NASB).

Jesus responded, telling John’s disciples to report to him that blind folks were seeing, the lame were walking, lepers were being cleansed, the dead were being raised, and the good news of the gospel was being preached to the poor. [1]

Then He said, “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me” (Matthew 11:6 NASB).

Offense. From the Greek  – to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, to entice to sin, to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey, to cause to fall away.

Jesus goes on to praise John and to say, Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matthew 11:11 NASB).

Jesus calls John the greatest among those born of women, yet He realized offense can be taken when circumstances don’t turn out as expected.

Others have had similar confusion.

After the angel of the Lord said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.”  [2] He asked, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13b NASB)

Since God is good and powerful, it seems natural to expect His presence to produce pleasant times. Like John and Gideon we can become disillusioned by how difficult our lives become, especially when we believe the Lord has the power to work things out.

In the midst of our hard times, how do we keep from stumbling and keep on trusting? How do keep on obeying and not become discouraged?

Jesus’ early disciples, who lived lives which were anything but smooth, had to learn to look at life from a higher perspective in order to begin to understand this dilemma.

And so do we.

What can keep us from taking offense when our lives get hard?

Blessed Are Those Who Don’t Take Offense.

Jesus’ message to John the Baptist about folks being blessed when they don’t take offense at Him, let’s us know it’s possible to see things in a different way.

But how?

We get some ideas by reading what a couple of Jesus’ disciples wrote after years of following Him.

Peter

The early life of Peter is widely known. Most have heard about how he denied Christ three times, even with a curse. [3] At that point in his life, though he was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, he hadn’t grasped how God can use hard times to achieve something far greater than carefree days. He was afraid that being truthful about knowing Jesus would be very dangerous to him. 

Later, scholars think between 35 to 40 years after his denial, he wrote the following verses: 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).

Through these years, God had been at work, through Peter’s own trials, to give him a view of God’s eternal ways. 

Here’s what he learned about God’s children:.

  • We will eventually earn an imperishable inheritance
  • We are being protected by the power of Christ for a salvation yet to be revealed
  • Various trials may be required to prove our faith, and deepen our trust in God.
  • Eventually these trials will result in praise, glory and honor
  • Even in the midst of trials, there’s great reason for us to rejoice and have expressible joy

Peter’s transformation is a miracle. And God is at work in us to achieve something similar.

What we learn through trials is better than life itself.

Paul

Paul’s early years are also well known. Until Jesus radically called him, he thought he was doing God’s bidding by killing Christians. He was on the wrong team.

But, like Peter, years of walking with Christ taught him how hard times can deepen his trust and build his relationship with God.

Take a look at some of the difficulties he faced for the sake of Christ recorded in 2nd Corinthians 11:23-28:

  • labors
  • imprisonments
  • beaten times without number
  • often in danger of death
  • five times he received thirty-nine lashes
  • three times beaten with rods
  • stoned
  • three times shipwrecked
  • spent a night and a day in the deep
  • dangers from rivers and robbers
  • many sleepless nights
  •  in hunger and thirst, often without food
  • in cold and exposure     

He knew personally what Jesus meant when He wrote, “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)

Like Peter, Paul learned to see things from a much larger perspective. See his personal testimony, written for us: 

“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).

It’s not easy to see the good when things are really hard, but Paul saw that it took utter despair for him to learn to stop trusting in himself. The situation was so dire, he could only cry out to God.  And, in the process, his faith grew.

The Greater Story 

Like John the Baptizer, Gideon, Peter and Paul, we have and will face circumstances which are beyond our abilities to endure. During these times, we need to be aware of God’s greater purpose for us.

God wants more for us than happy circumstances. When Paul tells us that God is working in all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes, he’s referring to something better than an easy life. God’s purposes are to give us the freedom and joy of being conformed into the image of Christ. [4] 

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 Jesus. 

See what James 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 can bring us joy because they develop endurance which lead us to becoming complete, lacking nothing. Nothing means nothing. Trials can show us we don’t need a life of ease to be joyful.

Prayer

Lord, I’m sorry for ever assuming that being with You meant my life would be easy. 

With Aspaph, I cry, “For me, the nearness of God is my good.” (Psalm 73:28)

You and You alone are my good, the source of all my joy [5] and my very great reward. [6]

I know You love me and that You want me to enjoy the moments of my life with You. But I also know, like Paul, from first hand experience, that You’ve used some really hard things to show me that I can’t depend upon anything in this world for my “okayness.” 

Though I would have never chosen these particular trials in my life, I’m amazed at how I love you with greater ferocity because You use them to dislodge idols from my heart.

Please continue to show me anything and anyone I’ve chosen instead of You. Free me of these I pray.

I love you.

  Amen

Journal Time

With your journal in hand, write about a hard situation in your life or in the life of someone you love. You may have more than one.

Write a prayer to God honestly telling Him how you are doing, in light of what’s going on. Don’t be afraid to express anger and disappointment, if that’s what you’re feeling. God can handle it. He wants us to come to Him in honesty. The real us coming before the God of all truth.

Consider ways He might have already been at work in these trials to conform you into the image of Christ. Write these things down.

Ask Him to give you the courage of His presence as you face life’s challenges.

Write about your willingness to face God’s will, even if it’s not what you might want.

If you were around when Gideon asked, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13b NASB)

Do you have a response to his question? If so, write it out.

Come back to this journal entry often.

[1] Matthew 11:2-5

[2] Judges 6:12

[3] Matthew 26:74

[4] Romans 8:28-29 

[5] Psalm 16:11

[6] Genesis 15:1

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

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