September 22 Want Joy?

Luke 24:52-53 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
 
With Great Joy – Part 2
 
BUT am I mistaken to assume you want a life of joy, of delighting in God? Perhaps you don’t. Maybe you’re just getting along, and your life is generally okay. Certainly, you have your ups and downs, and you feel there’s little you can do about life’s roller coaster days. Anyway, joy is so elusive! Life is what it is. Life is the “new normal”.
     Yes, “It is what it is.” And “the new normal” seem to have become popular slogans in our culture. Perhaps these words help us submit to things we can’t control. Or more likely, these slogans are a salve to ease the painful circumstances that hurt our lives. Is it possible these resigned slogans cause us to avoid the ache of facing very disappointing, even mournful events in our lives? Maybe they’re good.
     But likely they are not good. Do you really want to submit to a slogan, especially one that robs you of joy? Even more, Jesus certainly didn’t suffer the cross for you if he wanted you to define your life with, “It is what it is.”
     Instead, let’s consider the evidence of God’s promise to bless you with his version of “the new normal”: Deuteronomy 7:13 “And he will love you and bless you and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which he swore to your fathers to give you.” God promises he will bless your faithfulness to him by being with you. Knowing you are in God’s care, you will know the deep sense of well-being in our Lord that is joy’s foundation.
     Further, Jesus succinctly summarized this full-life blessing as he points to God’s eternal care: John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  The “Is what it is.” attitude is a thief. It steals away life. It hides hope and puts away faith. Worse, such slogans dismiss God’s Word in favor of a joyless world. Such thieves will cause you to live in a funk everyday, robbing you of the opportunity to live in faith everyday. Why is it we are too willing to easily settle for less when God promises to bless?
     If, however, you have decided you do want a life filled with, even overflowing with joy, you now may wonder, “Is joy possible to get? Is the effort worthwhile? Can I even recognize it if I get there?” In faith, we can answer these three questions with a confident and sure, “Yes.” as we further define joy through our Lord Jesus.
 
Prayer: From Psalms 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon – from Mount Mizar.