Category: promises

Joy Means ‘Strength’

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“Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.”

Isaiah 35:10, NLT

Part of our personalized history includes an opportunity to have a rich contact with ‘joy’.  Joy really has its introduction with our redemption.  When grace latches on to us we find ourselves soaked with gladness and real joy.  It is as if we stepped into a waterfall of mercy.  It has divine origins.

Isaiah speaks of joy as a crown.  To have a crown is a great thing.  When we discover our new headgear is a crown, we can find joy.  People who are troubled and distracted about their salvation are rarely joyful.  Without the confidence of the Holy Spirit, joy cannot find a place to settle, so it moves on.

Let’s be very clear– joy is not happiness, or cheerfulness.  It is not found in great worship, or a rousing time of singing.  Joy is actually strength in God and it is the primary way of defeating the enemy.  It will drive Satan and the demons back into the darkness.  When we are cloaked in joy we will push through a great number of obstacles and leap over fortress walls.

Joy is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  This means a lot of things, but it definitely means that we cannot fabricate it or develop it in our lives.   Joy is one of those proximity indicators.  When we more closely approach the Lord we find ourselves percolating with a deep sense of joy.  We are where we belong.  And our soul knows it.

“I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.”  

Psalm 132:16, KJV

A good analogy for me is this. Joy is the box we get to open to get to the salvation that’s waiting inside.  When we look at the subject of the believer’s joy we discover that it is a quality and a fruit of our relationship with God.  We can’t ‘develop’ it, or make it happen.

No one is ever commanded to produce joy on demand.  It will come when by faith you step up to fully receive your salvation.  Joy is not an option that only a few people get.

“Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water
   from the wells of salvation.
And as you do it, you’ll say,
   “Give thanks to God.” 

Isaiah 12:3, MSG

The joy is waiting for you, and when you have it, you will wonder how in the world you ever lived without it.  Believers will find that joy will be the freshness to follow Jesus in a very beautiful and delightful way.  And those who have a disability or a ‘mental illness’ will find joy to be God’s way of boosting us through hard times.  And this will be the very thing we’ve been waiting for.

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My Faithful Savior

Many things in this life are uncertain, causing even the faithful to struggle and doubt. Even at such times, or maybe even more so then, I am thankful that God has promised that He will never leave me or forsake me.

I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV).

When times are tough, may this triolet remind you of your faithful Savior Jesus.

My Faithful Savior

My faithful Savior will always be near
In my struggles and pain, when I doubt
that anything will ever change
My faithful Savior will always be near

I know someday He will exchange
the tears I cry for a glorious crown
My faithful Savior will always be near
In my struggles and pain, when I doubt

aasignLinda

Charred Cinders

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Aftermath of a forest fire in California

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.”

Isaiah 43:2, NASB

This will not be a typical commentary on this verse. (But it will be brief.)

The word I emphasize is “through.” I feel it is the salient point of the whole thought. Through implies a temporary state of being. We “pass through.” In a sense it is the state of being ‘between,’ and it is rarely, or ever comfortable.

Life is all about transitions– a job, children, marriage, health. We’re fine when things are steady and sure. However we feel the strain when things suddenly change. We are compelled to go through some things. Plain and simple. There are three simple things to think about.

  1. God is very present in those moments.
  2. Seldom do they vanish.
  3. They are never welcome.

The One who made the intricacies of our hearts stands by. Floods rage, trees float by. Fires get hot, and all becomes a blackened and charred cinder. Still God holds you. You will pass through this, and come out to the other side. Wiser and more compassionate.

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The Blessings of a Long Struggle

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It’s a familiar story. A person has become a Christian in recent years and is engaged in spiritual practices–prayer, Bible study, meditation, church attendance, fellowship, tithing, and/or the sacraments. They’ve listened closely to their priest or pastor and have developed some formulas that are supposed to help them overcome the problems, sins, and weaknesses in their lives.

They’ve heard sermons and/or read books that have titles that start with “Three Steps,” “Five Keys,” and “Four Ways,” that are supposed to lead them to the abundant Christian life. They see progress in their lives but are discouraged because they still struggle with certain sins, problems, and/or weaknesses. Some feel like they can’t overcome the very deep negative legacy from the unhealthy family they grew up in.

Church leadership would do many believers a service by teaching them about how God can bring good out of their protracted struggle. No , it’s not God’s will for us to habitually sin , but God, in his tender mercies can work redemptively in this long and frustrating battle.

One of the first good things that can come out of a long battle with a character flaw or problem is deliverance from a formulaic Christian faith. “Do these three things and your problem will go away” you learn from a best–seller, but your problem doesn’t go away. The fallen human heart is a complex and formidable thing, and these canned approaches are a little like taking a squirt gun to a forest fire.

When people experience sustained adversity, their lives feel out of control, and they will often grab on to formulas to give them a sense of righting a ship that’s taking on water. Unfortunately, they end up trusting in the formulas more than God himself. Faith in formulas will always eclipse faith in God. The Christian life is more about a restful trust in a Person than embracing a set of principles no matter how spiritual those principles may sound.

The New Testament is clear on the centrality of faith (not self–effort or formulas) in the overcoming life:

When asked by his disciples what they must do to do the works God requires, Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe on the one he has sent” (John 6:28, 29). When describing the person who overcomes the world, the Apostle John said, “He who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (I John 5:4, 5).

The failure of formulas is a good experience because it drives the believer to faith in the living God. In this faith, there is a wonderful exchange: I give Christ my pitiful attempts to live the victorious Christian life and he gives me his transforming power to overcome sin. However, this exchange may not happen overnight; it may be a process that takes years.

For those of you in a long struggle, please be comforted by the mercies of God that endure forever. If he can forgive a murderer and adulterer like David, he can forgive you and me. Please take the advice that Winston Churchill gave the British people during World War II: “Never, never, never, never give up ” or listen to the lyrics from a U2 song called “Miracle Drug” : ” There is no failure here, sweetheart/ Just when you quit.” Even better is C.S. Lewis from The Business of Heaven:

“I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations. It is not serious, provided self–offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience, etc. don’t get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home, but the bathrooms are already, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and to give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of his presence.”

Amen.

ybic, Jonathan

Jonathan is a old friend of mine. He writes like I wish I could. You would do well to visit his site. http://www.openheavensblog.com/ –Bryan