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I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:11
Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus being surrounded by disease, evil, and social unrest. Yet his goal for us in his teachings was to be filled with joy. Not because of those struggles, or to remove those struggles, but to give us strength, through those struggles.
As a follower of Jesus we can have JOY because we are JUSTIFIED through His sacrifice on the cross. Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
We can have JOY because when others fail us and we feel rejected we are assured of God’s OVERFLOWING LOVE. “No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)
We can have JOY because in the midst of life’s struggles, in those times we feel defeated and alone, Jesus gives us a YOKE OF REST. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
Live in JOY today because of Jesus!
I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. John 15:9
“If God is a God of love, then why did my mom get cancer?”
“If God is a God of love, why is there evil in the world?’
“If God is a God of love, why did that natural disaster happen?”
“If God is a God of love…”
We hear it all the time. It’s one of the arguments athiests, agnostics and non-believers love to use to prove that if God does exist, he isn’t the type of God one would want to have faith in.
But love is proven more powerfully in bad times than the good. When life is easy, we tend to love everyone and everything. But true love? You see that in the picture of an elderly man helping his nearly crippled wife walk down the street.
You see true love in the husband or wife who patiently and faithfully helps their spouse through addiction.
You see true love in the mom and dad who faithfully sit by the hospital bed of a sick child.
And God? You see His true love in through the life and death of His Son, Jesus. God loved Jesus as His only son yet he allowed him to go experience the rejection of the very people he created.
He allowed Jesus to feel the sorrow of watching friends die, people being mistreated and parents following the casket of sons and daughters.
He watched, and eventually looked away, when Jesus endured the ultimate pain of the cross.
In all this tragedy, God’s love is the defining factor. Jesus endured all He endured to show us that true love flourishes in the painful times of life.
The very purpose God has for giving each of us life is so that He can show us love. A love that values us when others reject us. A love that empowers us as we endure hardship and rejection. A love that assures us that even though things may look dark now, a better day is coming.
The rejection of his people and the pain of the cross led to new life, eternal life, through the resurrection.
The same is true for us. We may never understand fully the ‘why’, of God allowing us to go through struggles, hardship and rejection, but one day like Jesus, we will be resurrected into a new life with him forever if we follow Him as Lord and Savior.
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalms 68:19
I was at the store the other day and observed a young mom trying to do some grocery shopping for the family with two small children in tow. One was seated in the cart, the other was walking beside mom. She was tired, I could see it on her face. The older of the two was whining, no doubt he had a rough day at daycare. At one point he stopped, pulled on mom’s shirt and held his hands up. “Momma, carry me.” With a look of tired hopelessness, she responded, “I can’t carry you honey. You have to walk.” He cried, she got upset, I imagine you get the picture.
Have you ever felt that way? You love your kids. You’d do anything for them, but sometimes carrying our kids can be burdensome. We get tired, they get heavy. We get overwhelmed, they get demanding. At times, when we are honest with ourselves, we don’t carry them because we think they need to bear their own load. They are getting to old, to dependent, to spoiled.
On the human level, that’s understandable, but on the spiritual plain, here is a promise we need to remember. Your burden is never too heavy for the Father. As his dearly loved child, He never tires of carrying your pain, whether that pain is physical or relational. He never gets angry when you need to be carried through your fear. He’s not judgmental and refuses to carry you through your addiction. He is never so preoccupied with other things that He’s unwilling to scoop you up in His arms and remind you of his love.
Have you ever seen the picture of the shepherd carrying the little lamb? That’s your Father. He gladly carries you every single day. Every day. Every struggle. Every pain. You are in his arms, and you can rest securely there.
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.Luke 22:31-32
I’d failed. My actions completely went against everything that I stood for and believed. The worst part about it is, it wasn’t just me that I hurt but those around me as well.
Have you ever failed so badly that you didn’t think you could continue on in life? Maybe it was a destroyed relationship. Maybe it was making a decision that cost you your job or career. Maybe it was living a double life and the hidden part was revealed.
One of my favorite Bible characters is Peter. A close friend of Jesus, he was given every opportunity to be a strong leader. Yet with everything that he had going for him, Peter failed Jesus miserably.
But that’s not the end of the story. Jesus warned Peter that he would fail him. Jesus is never surprised by our failures.
Even though Jesus knew Peter would fail, he made Peter a promise. He promised Peter that when (not if) he returned, Jesus had a place for him in the kingdom. By doing so, Jesus made a statement concerning Peters value.
You see, our value is never placed on our ability to live for Jesus. Our value comes because of what Jesus does for us.
Being sifted like wheat hurts. It can leave lasting scars. But being sifted, like wheat also means the stuff we don’t need, the chaff is removed, and the most important part of us is preserved.
Don’t allow your defeats to determine your destination. Your value is not in your failures, but in your Savoir. He’s praying for you, and he has the power to restore you, so you can be the best that you can be.
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. Psalms 126:5
Growing up, my parents would always have a large garden to help feed our large family on a limited budget. I never enjoyed planting the garden for several reasons.
First of all, it was tedious. Spending hours in the hot sun putting seeds in the ground, making sure they were spaced according to my mother’s expectations and then covering them with the correct amount of earth wasn’t my idea of a great way to spend a spring day after a long, cold winter!
Secondly, we never really knew how well the garden would do. Summers in Wisconsin are anything but predicable. Sometimes they were hot and dry. Other times they were hot and wet. I didn’t always see the point!
Thirdly, I realized that planting seeds wasn’t the end of the story. Planting seeds also meant that in coming weeks there would be weeding to be done, cultivating to be accomplished and sometimes, irrigation to be implemented.
Lastly, I wasn’t looking forward to the process of canning and freezing these vegetables, which at our house was a family affair and usually took many hours away from some serious play time. Summers were short, time was valuable!
My problem was that. I wasn’t able to see the end result of all my seed planting. I wasn’t able to look ahead to my enjoyment of going out into the garden and picking a pod from the peas, those sweet morsels of enjoyment!
I couldn’t see my love for picking cherry tomatoes and snacking on them through the day.
I couldn’t see the joy of having fresh sweet corn and other vegetables, or the tastiness of BLT sandwiches made with tomatoes from our garden on mom’s homemade bread. I lost focus on the harvest.
Is that how it is with you? To often we focus on the current situation and the struggle ahead without realizing the joy of the harvest.
Marriage can be hard, yet those who have stuck it out in the hard times will tell you that those hard times ended up being the very thing that cemented the relationship.
Those who’ve gone through business or financial failure will tell you how much they appreciated the lessons learned and the resulting joy they live in now.
The drought of relationships gone bad can seem hopeless, yet those times of drought often are God’s call to draw closer to him, not people. To sense his love and faithfulness.
The analogy breaks down though. Sometimes the seeds we plant result in a harvest we never see. Kindnesses to strangers. Patience with those who let us down time and again. The pain of watching out kids make choices that go against the things we taught them.
But keep on planting seeds! Even though you may not see a harvest in your lifetime, the Father who brings the increase, will reward you in the life ahead because of your faithful seed planting in Jesus’ name.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 