2022-06-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I believe that real joy has its foundations in God’s will that we should feel a real inner joy that comes from our faith in Him. There are many examples in the Scriptures, like the one I discussed last week where King Jehoshaphat led the Jews in prayer and their advancing enemies were thrown by God into confusion, turning their weapons on themselves [2 CH 20: 1-30]. God claimed this was “His battle” but the Jews enjoyed the victory. Imagine the joy and relief that Jehoshaphat and his people felt! Another such example came with the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in the jail at Philippi, in AC 16: 16-40. Paul had exorcised an evil spirit from a slave lady who had made a lot of money for her owner by using it to tell fortunes. For this, he and Silas were beaten and sent to prison. Instead of complaining about the manacles, having their feet fastened to stocks, and chains that had been their physical burdens, they sang songs praising God. All the other prisoners heard these songs, as did the jailer responsible for them. After nightfall, most of the prisoners had fallen asleep. This prison was so dimly lit that the jailer could no longer see his charges. Then, there is an earthquake, and suddenly the prison doors flung open, as did the prisoner’s chains. Thinking he would be punished for allowing his charges to escape, the jailer was upset. However, Paul, Silas, and the others remained in place, and Paul shouted to the jailer, “Don’t harm yourself. We are here.” The jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!” They then made their way to the jailer’s household. After caring for their wounds, the jailer and his household heard the Gospel and were saved. Despite them being Roman citizens, Paul and Silas had been beaten and cast in prison without a trial. Once this information was reported to the magistrates, their charges were expunged. Paul and Silas left the city.
Let’s look at how the elements of true joy, the kind that lasts, in this story. As I mentioned the Foundation of lasting joy is our God, Who loves us. It is He Who gives us the faith we have and Who motivates us to obey His commands through the Holy Spirit. The surprise in this story has to be the earthquake and sudden opening of the jail doors and chains. Remember there were no seismographs and scientists to predict earthquakes in Paul’s day. Even nowadays, predicting earthquakes is an inexact science. Even with such equipment, we classify an earthquake as an “act of God.” Restoration in this story takes place in two ways: restoration of freedom for the prisoners and establishment of unexpected salvation for the jailer and his family. The latter came through their newfound faith in Jesus Christ. The abiding joy that comes from faith is a result of what for many years was considered a mystery. The mystery is explained in COL 1: 26-27 and COL 2: 2-3. It is Christ in us. Christ Who opens the great storehouse of God’s wisdom, making it available to all who believe in Him. As limited beings, humans can’t absorb all God’s wisdom, but we can use parts of it in our motivation to be faithfully obedient to His teaching, since our earthly life is full of challenges for us. Joy’s crown is a reward for victory, in this case over freedom and having helped others to come to faith.
PRAYER: O Lord, by virtue of Your grace and not by anything we do, You give us faith [EPH 2: 8-9]. This gift is given to anyone who abrogates control of his life to Jesus Christ. To be strengthened, our faith is tested from time to time. We have been promised, in 1 COR 10: 13 that You will never give us a test that isn’t common for humans or that is so intense that it will rob us of our resolve to remain faithful to You. We have many weaknesses and a sinful nature, but You patiently listen to all our prayers and answer them with Your unparalleled wisdom. We cannot demand a miracle, such as the one in the story from AC 16, but You often allow us to mature spiritually through learning how to overcome our challenges and live with our losses. Real joy that lasts comes from You. We thank and praise You for hearing our heartfelt prayers for self and others. Your goodness is not lost on us. We ask You to continue to instruct us and help us make decisions through the Holy Spirit. Our joy will come from watching You at work in our lives. We send You our love, reverence, willingness to hear from You, loyalty, and honor, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Lord makes some good information available to us about the meaning, description, and types of His crowns given to humans. I will get into an interesting discussion of this, at the behest of the Holy Spirit, next week. With all the many challenges and losses I’ve experienced in my 78 years, there were plenty that left me feeling like my efforts were fruitless, I had been emotionally abandoned, and I would have no quality of life after certain people have left it. All during my childhood, I was reared in a traditionally Jewish family, and I never felt that I was part of that faith other than culturally. It was an uncomfortable place to be! At the time, I was immature and never had any belief in God. It took until I was age 25 and had gone through a divorce from my first husband before I began on a quest to find spiritual fulfillment. At the time, God was kind enough to bring me newfound faith in Jesus Christ, I had a lot to learn. After being given access to other Christians, I was constantly quizzed by them about Judaism and the Old Testament. I also needed to learn God’s words in the New Testament. It was then that God let me know of two things: 1) He indeed been present from the beginning and waits for the right time to make His presence known. 2) He had given me the skills to be a successful student. Over these many years since then, He has shown me that He is the Boss and what His will for my service to Him is. Like Jonah, I had begun my studies to be a doctor, like my human faither. I had the grades, the courses, but not the will. At age 39, God surprised me by calling me to be a minister. How many Jewish ladies take that route??? I was stunned but yielded to His will. I’ve written in previous devotions about the details of what happened next, including disappointments, losses, illness, and other troubles along the way. But there is plenty of joy in this task for God. Restoration of self-esteem, willingness to step out of my comfort zone, yielding to His will when I didn’t really understand it, and, of course, salvation, eternal forgiveness for my sins, and justification in His sight to name a few. I am blessed in reporting that I feel abiding joy and faith, especially in what God does everyday to enable me to serve others. I have a loving and supportive family, certainly a gift from God. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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