Trust God with Your Life

{James 1:1-4; ESV} 

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

 It is no secret that life is filled with heartbreak, disappointment, tragedy, and an assortment of other troubles. We understand that God has not promised us an easy life. We are also aware of His ability to use the junk of our lives to mature our faith and transform us into the people He created us to be. The reason we should find joy in our suffering, is because God redeems our pain to make us new creations.

Yet, we also know that this is easier said than done. When our lives are going smoothly, or at least manageable, we can say, “I trust God no matter what happens.” It is easy to trust to God when things seem to be easy.

 When the clouds descend and the storm hits often our trust in God disappears. If we are not careful we may even begin to question God's heart. We may even begin to question His existence.

 How do we encourage each other in the midst of trials without sounding like a cheerleader? You know the person who says, “Just try a little harder. You can do it. Hang in there.” That type of encouragement is worthless. It is like trying to encourage a guy with a compound leg facture to get up and run a marathon, “You can do it. I am in your corner. I will pray for you.” We would recognize such behavior as cruel, and rightly so, because the problem isn't a lack of effort but a broken leg.

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Video: Joy and Suffering Within Worship

Daily Thought: The Significance of Joy

The deep significance of joy in the Christian life is hardly understood. It is too often regarded as something secondary; whereas its presence is essential as the proof that God does indeed satisfy us, and that His service is our delight. In our domestic life we do not feel satisfied if all the proprieties of deportment are observed, and each does his duty to the other; true love makes us happy in each other; as love gives out its warmth of affection, gladness is the sunshine that fills the home with its brightness. Even in suffering or poverty, the members of a loving family are a joy to each other. Without this gladness, especially, there is no true obedience on the part of the children. It is not the mere fulfillment of a command, or performance of a service, that a parent looks to; it is the willing, joyful alacrity [Brisk and cheerful readiness.] with which it is done that makes it pleasing.

Murray, Andrew (2009-10-04). Holy in Christ: Thoughts on the Calling of God's Children to be Holy as He is Holy (Kindle Locations 2314-2321). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

Daily Thought: Rejoice When God is Glorified

"You rejoice because you and your family are in good health, because your friends are smiling upon you, because circumstances surrounding you are favorable, because you have an abundance of good things to eat and of clothing to wear. But your rejoicing is only in earthly things. We are to be grateful for these things, but they are only the sea-foam of joy; the water lies beneath. True joy is to rejoice not only in the Lord but with the Lord. Rejoice in those things in which Jesus and the angels rejoice. When your goods are being wasted, you find your deepest joy because God is being glorified."

Orr, Charles Ebert (2004-11-01). How to Live a Holy Life (p. 64). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

Daily Thought: Indispensable Joy

"Hence there is nothing so attractive as joy, no preaching so persuasive as the sight of hearts made glad.  There is no proof of the reality of God's love and the blessing He bestows as when the joy of God overcomes all the trials of life.  And for the Christian's own welfare, joy is indispensable.  The joy of the Lord is his strength; confidence, courage, and patience find their inspiration in joy.  With a heart full of joy, no work can weary and no burden can depress." ~ Andrew Murray, The Best of Andrew Murray, p. 132

Daily Thought: The Greatest Joy

"People who insist on happiness never find joy.  They allow themselves to feel only those desires that are met.  Denied desires they deaden.  The effect is to feel happy for a season, perhaps a long season, but it's a selfish happiness.  They live for the ongoing satisfaction of desires other than the desire to know God.  They become self-absorbed." ~ Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams, pp. 74-75

Live with Joy

Psalm 1:1-2

God in Heaven,
I desire a life of joy. A joy that is based on eternal things and not on my everyday circumstances. A joy that is just as real in the hard times as it is in the good times.

In this Psalm You have revealed that the source of true joy is found in Your truth. I plead to You to lead me into all truth and to send Your Holy Spirit to my heart to instruct me in that truth and that You will strengthen me to walk in Your truth.

Guide my life into truth so that I can live a life of true joy and holiness. It is in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Is One Day Better?

The chorus of a popular praise song says:
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

I want to ask you a question: Do you believe that?  It sure is easy to sing when we are surrounded by other people singing the same thing, but our lives would tell another story.  Maybe I shouldn’t speak for you.  I will just talk about the reality of my life.

In my heart I desire to be with God and to follow Jesus in everything I say and do, but too often I am distracted by the things of this world.  Rather than living a Spirit guided life I live through the cravings of the flesh.  To me the flesh represents the physical world which is all around us.  It is the reality many of us find ourselves living in.  We get caught up with everyone else in the pursuit of possessions, careers, and romantic relationships.  We don’t really believe that happiness is found in God alone.  When we live by the desires of the flesh we believe we need the things of this world to make us happy and content. 

The sad truth is  there is nothing this world can offer us which will make us happy, even the love of our lives will not make us happy if we have not first found our joy and purpose in God.  1 John 2:17 reads; And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves.  But if you do the will of God, you will live forever (NLT). The things that the flesh convinces us that we need for happiness will fade away.  They do not have the power to add meaning and joy to our lives because they are just temporary while we were made for eternity.  The only thing that will bring true happiness to our lives is to be part of God's eternal Kingdom. 

The dreams and plans we have to bring about happiness in our lives have to be abandoned while we find joy in our relationship with God.  Even the good dreams we have must be put aside while we live by the desire of our heart, the desire to know God.

I believe one of the reasons God allows our dreams to shatter and to go unfulfilled is so that we will discover our deepest desire to know Him.  When we live by the lesser desires of the flesh we will never discover the very thing that will actually bring joy to our lives.  Therefore we need to arrive at a point in our lives when we can say what Erwin McManus wrote in Seizing Your Divine Moment; “Yet one moment lived for God is of greater value than an eternity lived without Him.”  One moment lived for God is greater than 75 years loving your earthly dearest.  One moment lived for God is greater than being a doctor and saving lives.  One moment lived for God is greater than a family who loves you.  One moment lived for God is the greatest of all the pleasures we can experience.

I have only begun to understand the truth of this.  It is so easy to get caught up with the desires my flesh is craving to indulge in rather than following the new desires of the heart given to me by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Those times I have listened to my heart have been some of the greatest times in my life.  Jesus said; “I have loved you just as the Father has loved me.  Remain in my love.  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 own joy may be in you and your joy be complete” (John 15:9-11; NJB).

The source of Jesus’ joy is doing the will of His Father.  The way our joy will be complete is to put aside our dreams of a happy life so that we can follow after Jesus.  You  might not have the career you have always wanted or get married when you want to, but you will discover the joy that only God can give.

The Joy of Fellowship

Take some time and think about those moments in your life that you would describe as joyful.  What is a common theme that runs through those experiences?  I am going to take a wild guess and say that the theme of relationships runs through your experiences of joy. 

I am aware that there are exceptions to this.  There is a certain amount of joy I experience from running in the morning.  There is joy in the watching the world "wake up," just as there is joy in the knowledge of the warm shower which awaits me when I return home. 

Yet, I want to suggest to you that joy is primarily found in relationships, and our relationships are the primary reason why we experience joy even when we are alone.  In other words: an absence of relationship means an absence of joy.  Relationships make joy possible.

Consider the words of John in 1 John 1:1-4

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. (NLT)

The two key words I want to pull out of this passage are fellowship and joy.  The apostle John here connects these two words together.  Fellowship is necessary for joy.

Fellowship is not just about "hanging out," going out for coffee together,  going to a party together, or taking a vacation together.  Fellowship is about doing life together.  It is living life with a common purpose.  One of the best illustration for fellowship, in my humble opinion, is The Lord of the Rings.  The fellowship was bound together by a common purpose, and through that purpose relationships began to flourish: even between an elf and a dwarf.  To have fellowship means to be in relationships with people that a striving for the purpose you are striving to acheive. These relationships are the best relationships that we can have.

I also have to point out that John tells us that there is one relationship, one fellowship, that is more essential than any other.  That relationship is the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ.  This is the supreme fellowship of our lives, and when we have made this our primary fellowship joy will then seep into every area of our lives.

Relationships have the ability to get us to focus outside of our tiny little lives to see the world that exists around us.  When we are in fellowship with other people, and especially in fellowship with the Creator, our minds are not thinking about all the unmet desires in our lives, but rather our attention is placed on the those that we love.  The foundation of joy is found in those feelings of love and contentment that we experience in community, but those  feelings often give away to a third feeling of joy, the feeling of desire.  Joy awakens in our hearts the desire for better things to come.  We desire because we realize that in those short moments of joy we experience are just a foretaste of what lies ahead.  Part of the experience of joy is the expectation of God's new creation that rests in our hearts.

There is joy in the journey and it is discovered through our relationships.  Today is a good time to start focusing a little more attention to those people who matter the most to you. Who knows the joy that awaits you if you do.

Reading My Own Words

Earlier today I was pretty bummed. The sad reality is that I am not very happy with my life right now. There are so many things I wish I could change about my life, starting with where I live (I hate the cold, snow, and ice) and what I am doing (I am not cut out for pastoral ministry).

As I was allowing myself to thinking depressing thoughts this afternoon one of the thoughts that went through my mind was: I just don’t have joy in my life (actually this was a funny thing to think since I have been pondering a post about the small joys of life). At the time I just couldn’t think of anything that brought joy to my life.

Earlier this evening I began to clean up some files on my computer and I found a pondering I originally wrote in the summer of 2005 (believe I have reposted it here, just not sure when), which dealt with joy. As I read it I was reminded that I am not joyless, I just allowed my discontentment to rob me of the joy I do have.

This is what I wrote three and half years ago:

Discovering Joy

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. ~ Galatians 5:22, 23; NLT

The Apostle Paul tells us that joy is one of the characteristics which make up the Christian’s life. The assumption we can make is that joy is something that God intends for us to experience in life. God does not desire that we go through life frustrated and grumpy. Joy should be one of the primary descriptions of our lives.

The pressures of this life often make joy one of the most elusive characteristics to have. We experience times of happiness and pleasure, but true joy eludes us. Part of the reason for that is because joy is not so much a feeling as it is a quality of life, and we have learned to settle for these momentary feelings rather than taking time to discover the joy God wants us to experience.

Joy, I believe, is discovered in our contentment of what we have in life. It flows from the knowledge that we are in exactly the right place. We can’t have joy when we allow ourselves to believe that the good life is just around the corner. When we are discontent with our lives we will not experience the joy we were designed to have. It is so easy to convince ourselves that the missing piece for joy in our lives will be found in the next relationship, with a new job, or having a nicer house. Rather than enjoying the blessings we have right now we focus on what seems to be missing from our lives which allows joy to elude us.

Joy is found in our contentment with life. It is the product of taking delight in our family and friends, as well as, any other blessings we have received. When we realize that the best of life is found in the love relationships we have, rather than in all the things we don’t have, joy will appear in our lives.

Not only does joy appear through our contentment, it is also found in our desire. Yes, that does sound contradictory, but it is not. Contentment is not the absence of desire, rather it is finding fulfillment in the way things are. Desire comes from the knowledge that things don’t stay the same. To stop desiring means a loss of joy in our lives.

Joy is found in the desire for things to come. It is the desire of the young lady content with her fiancé but who also longs for the wedding day. It is the desire of parents content with their baby but who also long to see her grow into a mature young woman. It is the desire of the Iowa Hawkeye fan content with the current state of the football program but who also longs for a National Championship. Hidden amongst our greatest desires is joy.

We were created to experience joy. It is one of the qualities God desires to see in our lives. As we learn to be content with our lives and to desire the right things joy will begin to show up and surprise us along this journey of life. There is joy in life and I hope you find it.