Wednesday, April 07, 2010

The Joy Just Won't Leave! - April 7, 2010

Good Wednesday morning! Oh the joy of new fallen snow! It's an April snow too, which means the streets and walks are wet, but not snow covered. The best kind of snow! Seriously though, we've been a bit dry lately, a snow like this is cause to remember gratitude to God for his providence.

So, how goes the battle for you today? Do you find joy in your present circumstance? You might find that fleeting moment of happiness in your circumstances today, but joy comes from another source. We pursue happiness, but joy comes to us from our Lord Jesus. I took stock of my circumstance this morning and found a headache from a nightmare I had last night. When I asked God what to write about this morning, wondering how I could use the circumstance instead of the Word, He said to write about joy.

Joy? I have a headache! There it is... a headache is a passing circumstance, praise God for the passing part, and circumstances are not the source of our joy. Having some sort of pain does not make us happy in the moment, but James reminds us to rejoice in all of our trials. Rejoicing has little to do with our circumstances and much to do with Jesus in our hearts. Mornings will come when we don't get up feeling tip-top. We might feel more like the dregs of yesterday's coffee, but our joy is still centered on Christ. Jesus promised that He would never leave us, so that means no matter how we might feel - our joy has not left us either!

You can push your happiness away with that bad thinking we engage in from time to time, but the joy that is in Christ Jesus doesn't leave with our happiness. Circumstances might rob us of the happiness we feel at times, but joy is here to stay. Happiness is a transient; joy a permanent resident.

Praise God for Christ Jesus and the joy found in Him!

Bucky

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