2022-02-18
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Elderly people who have spent a considerable number of years studying God’s word may think they have been at it a long time. When one compares our time on earth to the time we will spend in heaven, it’s a blink of an eye. Let’s consider 2 PET 3: 8-9, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” What is our reservation for heaven? It is having our names inscribed in God’s Book of Life. When we read God’s word and put it in practice in our lives, we build the foundation for joy even in our earthly lives as well as our heavenly ones. That may seem contraindicated since our lives are filled with so many challenges, losses, illnesses, and tests of our faith while we are on earth. But our strength comes with our convictions that Christ is our Lord and Savior. No one promises us that earthly life is smooth sailing; we all know it isn’t. But really joy and happiness from within is a gift from the Holy Spirit that helps us to gain eternal life.
Genuine faith in Jesus Christ involves growing in spiritual maturity and appreciating the daily blessings available to us by persisting in that faith. HE 11: 1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We are told, in LK 10: 20, “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” We can pray David’s words, in PS 43: 3-4, “Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my Joy and my Delight. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.” Real inner peace and joy come from enduring faith in the Lord. It is He Who chooses to reveal Himself to those who have faith and then, they are granted a deep-seated joy in knowing they can rely on Him. It’s easy for adults who shoulder the burdens of life to have trouble understanding the joy inherent in little children. Jesus understood this when He said to his disciples, who had rebuked some children playing nearby where Jesus was going to bless them, “Let the little children come and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little children will never enter it” [MK 10: 14-15]. The challenges of life haven’t caused these little ones to become cynical and hard. Childhood, without abuse or neglect by parents, is a time of joy. Children who lose one or both parents, or go through parents divorcing are given challenges in life that they must overcome. Sometimes these challenges cause them hardship and a cynical outlook on their lives and relationships. Under those circumstances, the joy that the Lord gives believers is hidden from them. Some will leave the faith; others will eventually return to it. An emotionally balanced child who goes through the divorce of his parents must and will establish his own relationship separately with each of them.
We can delve in LK 10: 21 to see how this joy little children have. “At that time (when our names are written in God’s Book of Life) Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.” We know that during His earthly ministry, Christ exhibited every normal human emotion from weeping at the death of Mary’s and Martha’s brother, Lazarus [JN 11: 35] to anger when overturning the tables of the moneychangers in front of the temple [MT 21: 12-13; MK 11: 15-19; LK 19: 45-48; JN 2: 13-22], as examples.
The Lord Jesus hears all our genuinely offered prayers. Certainly, He listened to David’s prayer of contrition in PS 51: 10-12 [excerpted here] which demonstrates an important truth. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” The Lord Jesus finds joy when a person prays like this and recognizes what the joy of salvation really is. He gives it to those who are genuine in their faith in Him and are willing to live out His teaching. Our God is a forgiving Deity, telling us in COL 3: 13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” That Christ is our Advocate is clarified, in 1JN 2: 1-2. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have One Who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atone Sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Those truths should give us inner joy, even when we are sorely tested.
PRAYER: O Lord, we thank and praise You for Your presence in our lives, consistently wise teaching, and daily blessings. One of these blessings is opening to us God’s wisdom through the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is short today, but we find joy in knowing You listen to our prayers and bring this joy to our hearts. We send You our love and devotion, in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit directs me to share verses that show various catalysts for joy from the Scriptures next week. The more we delve into joy in the Bible, the wider the vista of possibilities for it in our own lives. I am learning right along with you about this important subject because of my natural tendency to become cynical as I age. There are a lot of pressures for working people in this life-- some from politics, some from poorly developed relationships, and some the stress of meeting deadlines. That is why new retirees and newly widowed people must make tough changes in their own lives to once again find that joy. Faith in our Lord Jesus certainly helps. I would wish all these people mentioned would consider this truth. Our Lord makes joy possible. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved
<-- Back to Archives