When Joy takes a holiday

 

Since the middle of January up until two days ago, I had many hours of wondering if this was the way God would take me home. Much of the time I felt as if I would not survive or not ever feel normal again. I joke that normal is only a setting on the dryer, but when illness hits and does not go away, normal takes on a different meaning.

Not only that, my joy vanished. All through the years, the joy of the Lord has always been there, deep in my heart and through good and bad, but this past few weeks, it was missing. Knowing self-pity drives it underground didn’t help. Praying that I would not feel sorry for myself didn’t help. All the kindness shown to me in the hospital and after at home didn’t help. Whining like OT Job with “why this” questions went unanswered.

Finally I stopped all my asking and surrendered to the will of God without knowing what that might be. I belong to Him and He would do whatever He wanted for me, and I accepted that. The very next morning His joy returned. Still coughing and somewhat more tired than usual, but “normal” came back in that when I asked for the joy of the Lord, He granted it to me — and those who know this joy also know that hardships lose their power when joy takes over.

Today’s devotional says joy is not a thing to rejoice over, like the return of health or an outside event, nor is it to be idolized as something to put on a pedestal. Instead, it is the gladness of truth, of realizing what Christ has done, that I know Him, and that no matter what might be happening, He brings delight to my heart. Outer well-being does not do that. Joy goes beyond circumstances in this world with a clear comprehension of who God is and who I am because of Jesus.

The devotional author says we “do not on an earthly plane rejoice in our joy but in the thing that causes our joy. And on the heavenly plane it is the same. We are not to rejoice in our joy, but we are to rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of our salvation.” The OT prophet put it this way:

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places… (Habakkuk 3:17–19)

Not only can no man or devil take this joy from us, and no earthly sorrows can touch it unless… and God answered my “why” questions with this final paragraph:

All the spiritual writers of past generations have recognized this joy in God, and all of them have written concerning the stripping process that seems necessary to bring us to it. They have called this process by different names—“inward desolation,” “winter of the soul,” “dispensation of darkness”—all meaning the same thing, which is the experience of finding all earthly joys strained or taken away in order to drive the soul to God alone.

PRAY: Jesus, I would not thought of being so sick as a stripping process or even these other names for such an experience, but am thankful that in it, You have shown me in a deeper way than ever before that You are enough. No matter what happens, I can rejoice in You, the only One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Letters from a man who was there!

People seldom write or receive letters in this age of electronic messaging. Email, texts and even phone calls are the norm. The problem is the throw-away quality. Only a few try to keep all their e-correspondence. Most of it is read and responded to, then deleted. Or just deleted.

I’m glad that the Bible was not written in this century. Far too many put it on a shelf as it is, never mind what might happen if it were communicated by text messages! I’m particularly glad that the gospel and epistles of John are still intact and available to read, yes on my computer and smart phone as well as on pages in a book. He is my favorite and today begins a brief look at his letters. He wrote them late in the first century and with authority to dispute false teachers who denied the full divinity and humanity of Christ.

John affirms the core of Christianity; either we exhibit sound doctrine, obedience and love that characterize all Christians, or else we are not true Christians. These basics bring us great joy, a holy life and the assurance of eternal life even though we are not perfect in this life.

1 John begins with a delightful salutation that reveals the heart of its author:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our (or your) joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1–4)

He was there! He saw Jesus, touched Him, heard His words. He knew Him face-to-face and wanted his readers to know Him also — so their joy would be complete, generously supplied, filled up! He was not writing to make people fearful or warned but to bring us great joy!

For me, the joy comes when I know my sins are covered and God is pleased. The very next verses are among my favorites in all of Scripture . . .

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5–10)

God does not speak to me out of a cave or a dark place. He is light. He provides light — so I can see where I am going, have gone, what’s ahead. He reveals those foggy and confusing parts of life. Not only that, whatever is sinful is cleansed.

However, there is a caveat on cleansing. Verse 9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In other words, when the light of God reveals the darkness of sin in my heart and life, I not only must agree with Him, but tell Him so. I cannot deny that sin is present or make excuses and try to avoid His verdict. Being cleansed is the most important part of spiritual growth.

When Jesus came into my life, I first noticed a huge attitude change toward other people. Yet as time went by, that old “I don’t care about them” attitude popped up and I realized the reason for this verse. Even though Jesus gave me a new love for others, whenever the fleshy and sinful stuff showed up, I needed to see it and agree with God that it was present. Little by little, the way I used to live becomes less and less powerful and the new life I have in Christ becomes more obvious — as long as I keep short accounts with God who works in me to walk in His light.

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Lord Jesus, this is so basic yet we humans are so prone to blame-shift, deny that we do wrong, make excuses and so on. Adam and Eve did it in the garden, and we still do it. My application and my prayer for today is the same as it has been for years: show me any evil way in me and lead me in Your eternal light that I might glorify You instead of living in the foolishness of ignoring my sin.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- the reality of sin forgiven and cleansed.

- for those who gave their lives for our freedom.

- for those who came home, needy but alive.

- the faces of those veterans as they were being honored.

- more fresh snow and sunshine.

- another day without a nosebleed.

This is where I live

A dear pastor used to give each member of his congregation a verse for the year. After he died, and we were living in another city, I was thinking about him and the idea of a focus verse, missing both of them. That very day, a dear friend emailed me. She was thinking that I needed a verse for the year and sent me one!

Since then, I’ve asked God for an annual focus verse. This year, He gave me one from John’s gospel: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16)

Jesus is talking about His focus for my life as His child. He selected me to produce fruit, those qualities that only the Holy Spirit can bring forth in me. Tied to this, He also promises that as I obey Him, not only will this fruit have an enduring quality, but whatever I ask God in the name of Jesus, He will give it to me.

As amazing as that is, even as I read it, I must think about the context. The process of producing Holy Spirit characteristics (like love, peace, joy, goodness, etc.) is not something I can do, nor can those qualities be imitated. Some may try to fake them, but by their biblical definitions, they cannot be faked either. The only way I can be the fruit-bearer God asks for in verse 16 is by obeying the verses that come before it.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:5–11)

Abiding in Jesus could be compared to living in a place. For instance, at the moment I am in a condo in Florida. This is my abiding place, but as soon as I step out the door, I am no longer abiding here. My earthly home is far from this place and when I’m there, it could be said that I am abiding there. Yet I can leave that place too, obviously. So what does it mean to abide in Jesus and stay there?

As this entire chapter says, to abide in Him is vital for fruit bearing and He explains how to do that in the above passage. Verses 9-10 say, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Abiding is doing what He says. To move away from that, to step out the door so to speak, is disobedience. Each time I do something that He forbids, or that is a fleshy, sinful and selfish action, I’ve stopped abiding. It might be an obvious thing like gossip or mistreating someone. It can also be hidden, like envy or anger or feeling sorry for myself, even though these eventually show up in words and actions.

The main thing is that unless I abide, I miss out on bearing fruit, having my prayers answered, glorifying God, experiencing full joy and fitting in with the plan of God. He is telling me these things for His glory, but also for my benefit. Abiding in Jesus is a good thing, a blessed way to live. These verses are not only precious but practical.

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Jesus, I am thankful that in You, I have all that I need. Not only that, when I abide in You, You can use me to bless others and glorify You. Today will bring temptations to move away, to do my own thing, to be selfish. Keep me continually reminded that You are the vine and apart from You, anything I do has no eternal value and is worthless in this life also.