The Bible tells to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4), but how realistic is this? In a recent meeting we were discussing this and I suggested that I would find it hard to believe, if anyone said that they did it all the time. But it has to be possible (in Him) to live a life (substantially) filled with joy, or He would not command us to do it. At our meeting I played a You Tube clip of Nick Vujicic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjiEi2Eywk&feature=fvsr. Nick is an outstanding example of someone with incredible joy, who in the natural, has a lot less reason than most of us to be that way. He is, however an inspiration of what we can be in Him.
Part of the problem I think (but just a part), is that we tend to confuse joy with happiness. “I just want to be happy” we hear people say, but happiness is directly related to happen – ness. The old time musical “Oklahoma” opens with the song “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, oh what a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way”. But is the day still beautiful if things are not going my way? Happiness is so totally dependent on circumstances, but joy when we have learned to tap into it, can be the very thing that brings us through the circumstances.
The command in James 1:2 quoted last day is not a command to be happy when you find yourself caught up into the midst of various trials, it is to command to cooperate with God so He can use joy to bring you above the circumstances. Romans 8:28, also found in last days' post says “We know that God is a work in all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”. I asked the group if this verse is true (just trying to weed out the heretics :-) ). We all knew the expected answer, but the real question is if we believe it, not just in our heads, but in our hearts. In other words I was asking if it is a reality in our lives.
After seeing the movie “The game” years ago, I wrote in my journal “If we knew that life was a game and that everything that happened either good or bad would, in the end, work out for our good, then we could relax and enjoy the ride” I then wrote “But we do know this” (yes I was thinking about Romans 8:28). I believe that God wants us to live in the reality of His truths, His Word is meant to change us. But how can we enter into them? It starts of course by getting them into our heads (memorize them), and then we need to meditate on them, pray over them, speak them to ourselves (and others) until we believe them, then speak them some more because we believe them.
In terms of the Romans 8:28 verse, if you have been a Christian for any length of time it is likely that God has used some difficulty in your life to bring comfort to others. And this brought you joy. There is in the end nothing that is more fulfilling than being used of God. In an interview Bethany Hamilton, the girl who lost her arm in a shark attack (the person behind the movie 'soul surfer'), tells that she would not choose to have her arm back if she could choose to reverse things. Behind this remarkable statement lies the reality of how her circumstances drew her close to God and how He used them and her, to minister to others.
I said in a previous post that the Christian has resources that the non-Christian cannot know. Most of us do not have the recourse in and of ourselves to be the sort of overcomer that we see in Nick and Bethany. But the good news is that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So then when we are weak, when we do not have these resources within us, then we qualify for His enabling Grace. If we had these resources within ourselves, and using them managed to overcome, then we would get the glory. However when we do not have the resources, and we tap into His resources and then overcome, He gets the Glory and we get to be part of ushering in His Kingdom. There is, as I say, nothing that brings more fulfillment.
On top of this, when we learn to tap into this joy, then this very joy enables us to get through the difficulties of life. In other words, the joy of the Lord becomes our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). It makes no sense in the natural, but all things are possible in Him. This joy is for you and for me, it is your birthright and it is mine. We do need to set our hearts to be determined to settle for nothing less than all He has for us. If someone left you a million dollars how hard would you fight to get it? How far are you willing to go to tap into the benefits of His passion? We need to surrender all we are and have to Him, then drink of the joy and the hope and the love and the grace that He gives to those who choose to love Him (yes we are still in Romans 8:28).
Rejoice evermore? Yes. Get real? Yes, Amen! To move into this is to move into what is truly real (if unseen) where we are encompassed by His joy and love and grace. Saving grace is free, but to enter into His enabling grace will cost us everything we are and have. I particular we need to stop fighting God over the people and circumstances He allows in our lives to refine us. To paraphrase Paul “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the reality of the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Let us encourage on another to live in the certainty that this life is not all that there is, and that when we cooperate with Him, He will use the difficult things to make us more like Him, bringing us through pain into His Love and joy, and in the process bringing others into His kingdom (Romans 8:29).
I invite you to pray: Father bring me to the place I need to be in order to receive your grace and joy, no matter what the cost. Deal with everything in me that hinders this. In Jesus name
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