WHY DO SO MANY CHRISTIANS FAIL TO EXPERIENCE REAL JOY AND REAL PEACE? COULD IT BE THAT TOO MANY ARE CAUGHT UP IN THE “PASSING PLEASURES” OF THIS WORLD? MAYBE THEY HAVE LET THE WAYS OF LIFE DISTRACT THEM AWAY FROM FAITH AND GOD.
IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE CALLING THEMSELVES A “CHRISTIAN” COULD STILL MISS OUT ON EXPERIENCING TRUE AND EVERLASTING JOY. WHY? BECAUSE JOY ONLY COMES FROM SERVING, ABIDING IN AND OBEYING JESUS CHRIST.
THIS IS THE ANSWER JESUS GIVES US TO A FULL AND LASTING JOY. JOHN 15:11, TELLS US, “I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MAY BE IN YOU AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE.”
JESUS HAD JUST FINISHED TELLING THE PARABLE OF “THE VINEYARD” WHERE HE TAUGHT THEM “REMAIN IN ME, AS I ALSO REMAIN IN YOU. NO BRANCH CAN BEAR FRUIT BY ITSELF; IT MUST REMAIN IN THE VINE. NEITHER CAN YOU BEAR FRUIT UNLESS YOU REMAIN IN ME.” JESUS WAS EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ABIDING WITH GOD IN A LOVING, INTIMATE, AND OBEDIENT RELATIONSHIP. THIS IS WHY JESUS CONCLUDED HIS VINEYARD PARABLE BY SAYING “I AM THE VINE AND YOU ARE THE BRANCHES.”
JESUS MAINTAINED THAT HIS OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDS OF HIS FATHER WAS THE BASIS OF HIS JOY. IT IS NO DIFFERENT FOR US. WE MUST MAINTAIN A LIFE OF OBEDIENT LOVE WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. NO RELATIONSHIP? THEN, NO JOY!
THE GOOD NEWS FOR US TODAY IS THAT JESUS WANTS TO GIVE US THIS COMPLETE AND FULFILLING JOY. HE KNOWS THAT APART FROM THIS DEPTH OF OBEDIENCE, WE DO NOTHING MORE THAN SELL OURSELVES SHORT AND SETTLE FOR NOTHING MORE THAN THE UNFULFILLING STATE OF BEING HAPPY OR FEELING GOOD.
THE JOY THAT IS IN JESUS CHRIST IS ALWAYS THERE TO EMBRACE IF WE WOULD COMMIT TO SURRENDING TO JESUS, LIVING ACCORDING TO GOD’S COMMAND, AND STRIVING EACH DAY TO FORSAKE OUR FLESHLY DESIRES THAT CRY OUT TO BE FULFILLED WITH INSTANT GRATIFICATION.
THESE ARE THE VERY THINGS JESUS SAID WOULD PROVIDED REAL JOY. HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT JUST GETTING BY WITH BEING HAPPY. HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT JUST LIVING DAY AFTER DAY IN A DULL EXISTENCE AS WE WAIT TO GO TO HEAVEN. THAT’S WHY I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REALLY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOY AND HAPPINESS.
HAPPINESS IS FUELED BY A DEPENDENCE UPON WHAT WE EXPERIENCE EXTERNALLY ON THE OUTSIDE. EVENTS SUCH AS A BIRTHDAY, SUNNY DAY, GIFTS, WINNING, OR A FESTIVE HOLIDAY.
JOY COMES FROM DEEP WITHIN ONES HEART AND SOUL. JOY IS THE DIVIDENDS THAT ONE RECEIVES WHEN THEY ARE WILLING TO INVEST THEMSELVES IN A LOVING, INTIMATE, AND OBEDIENT RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR.
ALTHOUGH SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO, THERE REALLY IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE JOY IS PERMANENT AND A STATE OF BEING WHERE HAPPINESS IS MERELY A FLEETING AND PASSING EMOTION.
THIS IS WHY I BELIEVE PEOPLE ARE WEARING THEMSELVES OUT TRYING TO NOT ONLY BE HAPPY BUT STAY HAPPY. THERE ARE MANY WHO THINK THAT MAINTAINING HAPPINESS REQUIRES A LOT OF CONSECUTIVE GOOD THINGS TO “HAPPEN” IN THEIR LIFE.
IT IS THIS TYPE OF MENTALITY THAT MAKES ONE DEVELOP THE NOTION THAT HAPPINESS COMES FROM A BOTTLE, A DRUG, A BIGGER HOUSE, HIGHER INCOME, FAME, FORTUNE AND HAVING A COMFORTABLE LIFE FILLED WITH MATERIAL POSSESSIONS.
IF THEY CONVINCE THEMSELVES THAT THIS IS HOW THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE IN ORDER TO FIND HAPPINESS THEN THEIR LIVES BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF DIGGING AND CLAWING AFTER THINGS TO STAY CONTENT AND SATISFIED.
PEOPLE SEEKING FOR JOY BUT STOPPING FAR SHORT BECAUSE THEY GOT CAUGHT IN THE TRAP OF GOING AFTER AND SETTLING FOR THE QUICK FIX OF TEMPORARY HAPPINESS. MARK 8:36, “FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOSE HIS OWN SOUL?”
JOY, ON THE OTHER HAND, DOESN’T EVEN NEED THINGS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE THOSE WHO HAVE JOY KNOW THAT IT IS SUPPLIED INTERNALLY AND ABUNDANTLY BY GOD THROUGH AN INTIMATE AND OBEDIENT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON JESUS.
THOSE WHO EXPERIENCE JOY HAVE LEARNED THROUGH EVERY POSSIBLE KIND OF SITUATION (WHETHER GOOD OR BAD) THAT JOY CAME BY THEIR DEPENDENCE UPON GOD THROUGH THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON JESUS. FAITH. TRUST. OBEDIENCE.
IF ONE DESIRES TO GRADUATE FROM TEMPORARY HAPPINESS TO EVERLASTING JOY THEN THEY MUST ABANDON THEMSELVES AND SECURE THEIR TRUST IN GOD BY FALLING AT THE FEET OF JESUS CHRIST THROUGH CONFESSION OF SIN AND FAITH IN HIM.
IN OUR SCRIPTURE PASSAGE TODAY THIS IS EXACTLY THE PRESCRIPTION GIVEN TO LAND OF JUDAH. THEY WERE TOLD THAT IF THEY WOULD SIMPLY TRUST IN GOD AND KEEP A STEADFAST MIND THEIR TRUST WOULD SOON BECOME THEIR SONG OF VICTORY.
NOT ONLY WOULD THEY HAVE A SONG OF VICTORY, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE SOMETHING THEY DRASTICALLY NEEDED FOR THEIR WAR-TORN LAND – JOY AND PEACE!
THEY WOULD HAVE JOY AND EVERLASTING PEACE UPON THE SOLID ROCK OF THE LORD GOD. IT WOULD ALL BE THEIRS IF THEY WOULD HAVE A STEADFAST MIND AND TRUST IN GOD.
SO, IN THE PURSUIT OF AN EVERLASTING JOY WITH A PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO HAVE A “STEADFAST MIND?”
STEADFAST COMES FROM THE HEBREW TRANSLATION THAT MEANS “TO SHAPE,” OR “TO FORM.” IT ALSO MEANS TO HAVE A “DEPENDENT ATTITUDE.” IT IS LITERALLY SAYING, “THE ONE WHOSE MIND IS FOUNDED, FORMED, FIXED, AND SHAPED ON GOD WILL BE KEPT IN PEACE BY GOD HIMSELF!”
JUST LIKE CLAY STANDS WITHOUT RESISTANCE SO THE POTTER MAY SHAPE AND MOLD IT INTO WHATEVER HE WILLS, SO SHOULD WE, AS CHRISTIANS, ALLOW GOD TO MOLD AND SHAPE US WITHOUT HESITATION OR RESISTANCE. OUR ATTITUDE MUST BE ONE OF TOTAL ABANDONMENT FROM OURSELVES TO A COMPLETE DEPENDENCE UPON ALMIGHTY GOD.
THERE IS A SECOND WORD USED IN THE PROCESS WHICH IS TRUST. THE PLACING OF OUR TRUST IN GOD IS TO BE AN ATTITUDE OF UNWAVERING AND FIXED CONFIDENCE.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE TRULY WANT JOY AND PEACE WITHIN OUR LIVES, WE MUST PUT ALL OUR TRUST IN GOD’S TIMING AND HIS ABILITY TO HANDLE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES.
THIS MEANS WE STOP TRYING TO MANAGE THE OUTCOME TO FIT OUR UNDERSTANDING. WE STOP SEEKING ANSWERS. WE STOP DEMANDING THAT GOD OWES US AN EXPLANATION. WE STOP JUMPING IN TO “FIX THINGS” OR TO MAKE THINGS MOVE ALONG FASTER. WE MUST “LET GO AND LET GOD!” WE HAVE TO BECOME SPIRITUALLY FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE TO WHAT GOD HAS FOR US AND WANTS TO ABUNDANTLY BLESS US WITH.
TRUST THAT GOD HAS NOTHING OTHER THAN THE BEST FOR YOU PHILIPPIANS 1:6, SAYS, “I AM CONFIDENT OF THIS, THAT THE ONE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK AMONG YOU WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION BY THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST.”
IF WE WILL SIMPLY ABANDON OURSELVES AND HAVE A STEADFAST MIND FULL OF TRUST IN GOD, WE WILL FIND TRUE, INNER JOY AND PEACE WHICH MAKES POSSIBLE A CONFIDENT HOPE THROUGH ANY AND EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE IN OUR LIVES.
IN CLOSING, I MUST SAY THAT SEEKING AFTER AN EVERLASTING JOY IS STRICTLY UP TO US. GOD OFFERS IT TO US ABUNDANTLY AND FREELY. HE WON’T FORCE IT ON ANYONE BECAUSE HE CAN ONLY GIVE IT TO THOSE WHO WANT IT.
WE CAN EITHER STAND AT A DISTANCE ON OUR OWN AND ALLOW CIRCUMSTANCES TO DICTATE OUR HAPPINESS OR WE CAN COME CLOSE TO GOD, TRUST HIM AND EXPERIENCE EVERLASTING JOY DESPITE CIRCUMSTANCES.
EVERYONE HAS IT WITHIN THEIR POWER TO SAY, “WITH TRUST IN GOD AND A STEADFAST MIND UPON THE ROCK OF THE LORD GOD I REFUSE TO ALLOW MYSELF TO BECOME A VICTIM. SO TODAY I WILL CHOOSE THE JOY AND PEACE OF CHRIST!”
THINK OF IT THIS WAY: HUGE OCEAN WAVES THAT WOULD FRIGHTEN AN ORDINARY SWIMMER TO STAY CLOSE TO SHORE ARE THE SAME WAVES THAT PRODUCE A TREMENDOUS THRILL FOR THE SURFER WHO HAS LEARNED WHAT IT TAKES TO RIDE SUCH WAVES. LET’S APPLY THAT TO OUR OWN CIRCUMSTANCES.
THE THINGS OF LIFE THAT WE LET BREAK US AND THE TRIALS WE OFTEN TRY TO AVOID AND FIGHT AGAINST – THINGS LIKE CONFLICT, TRAGEDY, MISFORTUNES, LOSS, SUFFERING AND PERSECUTION – ARE THE VERY THINGS THAT PRODUCE THE JOY WE WERE AFTER IN THE FIRST PLACE.
A CHRISTIAN DOESN’T KNOW THE JOY OF THE LORD IN SPITE OF TRIBULATION, BUT BECAUSE OF SUCH TRIBULATION. THE UNDIMINISHED RADIANCE, WHICH IS THE RESULT OF ABUNDANT JOY, IS NOT BUILT ON ANYTHING PASSING, BUT ON THE LOVE OF GOD THAT NOTHING CAN CHANGE!
HAPPINESS IS DEPENDENT UPON TEMPORARY REACTIONS TO EXTERNAL HAPPENINGS. JOY IS A STRONG, EVERLASTING AND PERMANENT INTERNAL STATE THAT IS NOT AFFECTED BY ANY EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER.
THEREFORE, CHOOSE JOY! KEEP A STEADFAST MIND UPON GOD. LET US HEAR, ONCE AGAIN, ISAIAH 26:3-4, “THOSE OF STEADFAST MIND YOU KEEP IN PEACE—IN PEACE BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN YOU. TRUST IN THE LORD FOREVER, FOR IN THE LORD GOD YOU HAVE AN EVERLASTING ROCK.” NOW THAT IS JOY! CHOOSE JOY!
