Choosing Joy

JOY –such a beautiful word! Joy is much deeper than happiness: happiness is fleeting, depends on everything we see, taste, hear, feel. But joy comes from the peace and strength Jesus grants us daily. It is unconditional –or so it should be.

The life of those who follow Jesus should be one filled with joy. But how many of us walk around defeated, distressed, and depressed? We are convinced our circumstances or the people in our life or those missing from it are the cause of our slumped shoulders, deep sighs, and frowns; but really, we are destroyed from within. Yes, we do this to ourselves!

Joy is a choice, you see.

Joy can be yours if you follow Christ, but you must claim it for yourself. Accepting Christ is not an automatic potion to a life of joy. In fact, pursuing His calling often brings much, much difficulty; it rarely negates life’s hardships but sometimes brings about more. There may be great sacrifice in claiming His death and resurrection: after all, Galatians 2:20 states that we are crucified with Christ. Yet we can glory through all of it.

How then? By choosing to see it all through His eyes –and to let His still, small voice be our vision when our human sight is impaired.

In I Thessalonians, Paul encouraged believers to see their life as a beautiful calling from the Lord –and they should rejoice in this realization. “In everything gives thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We can REJOICE in His will! It is worth being thankful for!  A few days ago, Amy Carmichael pointed out in her devotional Edges of His Ways the strong truth in Romans 15:13: God equips us with “all joy and peace in believing.” There is JOY in truly believing Him –in trusting Him, in choosing to view His plan through His unseen ways, and in pursuing Him in reckless abandonment.

“’Hush’ to the thoughts that would depress, for the day is holy; it is the day that the Lord has made, that we may rejoice and be glad in it. Let us join hands with Paul, and thank God and take courage” (Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways). It is HIS day for HIS glory, regardless of what may or may not happen. Temptations and trials, difficult people and disappointments, hurt and strife –as followers of Christ, you and I can still rejoice through it all. We must trust Him to use it all for His plan and for His glory. So let us rejoice and be strengthened by His JOY.

"What though the way is long

In Thee my heart is strong

Thou art my joy, my song..." 

-Amy Carmichael

The Veil Has Torn

The writings of Exodus can appear long-winded, repetitive, and even useless at times. Oh the many times I have complained about its content! But when in my head and heart God connects dots from this more challenging piece of Scripture with the often Christian favorite of the New Testament, I am left humbled and can only rejoice with the delight He brings.

This morning I was thinking about all the things on my to-do list –the things I want to do and those I don’t; the things I take pleasure in and those I despise; the things that are easy and those that require effort. Lying in bed hearing the birds already worshiping, I knew what my soul needed but I wanted to indulge my head and attempt to accomplish everything in my own might. I wrestled, hid under the quilts –but already the sun revealed His glory through my half-drawn blinds, luring me to His feet. Finally, I rolled over, pushing away my human feelings. Sitting by the window and sipping coffee, I started writing down my worry and wanna-be achievement list while meditating on Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” As my pen traced on the journal page each of my thoughts, God supplied His peaceful answer.

So I rejoiced along with the birds.

As I continued my reading of Exodus, I was captivated by the glorious description of God’s commandments concerning the tabernacle as well as the clothes worn by the priests.  One verse, though, that bounced off the page as if already highlighted without my pen was Exodus 26:33-34: “and the veil will divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. And you will put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.” The people of Israel were not to enter this most holy section where God’s Spirit was; they could not approach God on their own because of their imperfections compared to His holiness. A veil separated them.

One day everything changed, though: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in half from the top to the bottom; and the earth did shake, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:51). THE VEIL WAS TORN. Why? What had just happened? Jesus, the Son of God, had just died, crucified on the cross and taking every single sin upon Him. He acted as the perfect sacrifice acceptable to God, making it possible for those who believe in Him to approach God anytime anywhere about anything. JESUS made it possible for me to approach God’s mercy seat this morning, leave everything at His throne of grace, and rejoice. “[The] veil is done away in Christ…when [we] turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:14-18).

The veil has been torn. What are we waiting for? Let’s gather at His mercy seat and REJOICE.