Joy
I have mentioned before that Joy & happiness are not the same. Happiness is most often associated with the favorable outcome of a situation whereas joy, is not reliant on any specific instance but rather is found one’s own personal foundations of security, faith & identity. Therefore, true joy can only be found in Jesus, as all other securities, foundations and identities will fail and change. The love of Jesus will not change, it is not conditional, and it has power to overcome anything we may walk through in life.
True joy is unmistakable, it free’s a person to love, serve, and give to others without reservation. When doubt and self-loathing come, the joy of the Lord lifts a person’s spirit and as a result their physical countenance for all to see how God’s love was designed to be seen by the world. Jesus says, the world will know My love by the way, we, his children, love each other, and they will have the ability to have this type of joy producing love because I will give them my Holy Spirit.
By the time you read this there will be just over a week left before Christmas. That means you still have time to let that cashier, that delivery driver, your neighbor, your children see the love of their creator through the joy He has put in your heart. This is no small thing; we know that a smile or a kind word can change a person’s whole day and, in some instances, have turned the course of their life completely. Spend time with you savior each day this week and ask for His joy to pour out of you. Rebuke the attacks of Satan to distract with thoughts of self and ego. You are a child of God and as such, have access to eternal life and the Joy of Christ.
Peace,
Nathan Bentley