There’s just not much to being a Christian anymore. Oh, I know we are promised heaven and that’s why most of us became Christians. Though if we were truly honest, even the thought of heaven frightens us a bit. But when we truly begin to compare our lives to that of our unsaved neighbors, we find that there isn’t very much difference between us. Yes, we use “acceptable” sins as the way to accommodate our needs and unhappiness. We overeat instead of using drugs. We yell at our spouses instead of our children. We purchase ourselves into debt rather than get drunk on alcohol. But all in all, we are very much like our unsaved neighbors.
We live in the future, pining away for a “better” life somewhere down the road. We complain about our aches and pains, gossip about our irritating neighbors, ignore our insensitive spouses, and saturate ourselves with the world and its ways. Just those who do not follow the Lord, we are weak, discontent and unhappy.
Why are we like this? Why is the American church so weak and unhappy? Why are the children of God, who hold within our bodies and spirits, the promise of the eternal Father, feeling and acting like we are forgotten orphans, dodging bullets in the streets and rummaging through the trash cans for sustenance? Why can’t we acquire the promises that God has given to us in His Word?
I believe that one of the problems is that we lack the power of God’s joy in our lives. We know we should have it; we speak as though we do have it. But the truth is, we are unhappy and consequently, we are weak. And we don’t know how to fix what’s wrong.
Let’s look at the concept of joy from a Biblical perspective. I truly believe that the answer to our heart’s desire lies in understanding the secrets of God’s promised joy to every believer.
Tell others how much He’s blessed us
One of the first references to joy in the Old Testament is found in Deuteronomy 28:47: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things . . . “ And while this is, in fact, a negative reference, is tells us a lot about the joy of the Lord. This verse tell us that the people were to serve God with joy and a glad heart . . . why? Because of the abundance of all things. In other words, the cause of joy was for the things that they had. And it is here that the first-–and one of the most important-–concept about living with joy is discovered and it is this: We are blessed with an abundance of things and we are to live for God in joy because of them.
As Americans, we suffer from the problem is living our lives almost completely in a future sense, looking toward that which we will have someday, longing, hoping and working toward it. This sense was even ingrained in the founding of our country where we were insured the right to “the pursuit of happiness.” Observe yourself for a day or two and see if this isn’t true. We live in and for the future, not for the “now.” We hope and plan for the day when we will have . . . more or greater possessions . . . improved health . . . a more secure relationship . . . a better job . . . increased wealth . . . and the list goes on. We are discontent with what we have and focus almost totally on that which we lack. We, who live in the wealthiest country in the nation, where even our poor live like kings and queens compared to most of the world, sigh and long for some future (nonexistent?) day when our problems will be swallowed up in an improved lifestyle.
I think this come to a head most clearly in how we greet each other. “How are you doing?” becomes a catalyst for a list of complaints greater than the national deficit. It becomes a litany to what’s wrong in our lives rather than an opportunity to rejoice in the many, many blessings that God has granted to us already.
Philippians 4:6 tell us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Why are we to thank God for what we have while we are asking Him for what we don’t have? Because our focus is now and always to be on that which we do have, that with which He has blessed us. But in many ways, we have turned this around, focusing always in our hearts and with our Lord, on those things we lack. We have become masters at defining our deficiencies rather than singing the praises of our blessings.
May I suggest two problems with doing this, two significant truths that may change our lives? First, if we are always listing our needs, we become focused on them. They become the center of our thoughts. And because they are lacking in our lives, we begin to doubt the sincerity of God’s promise to care of us. We feel as if our prayers are not being answered, when in truth, we are probably praying amiss. We are, in fact, sabotaging ourselves (and often blaming Satan for it).
Second, if we are always listing what is wrong in our lives, we are–with our mouths–giving credit and praise to the works of Satan. Even if the circumstances and events in our lives are not a direct spiritual attack, we know that all “bad” things are a result of the influence of Satan and sin upon our lives. Thus, as we tell each other of all our ails and woes, we are giving voice to the works of Satan. We are, in essence, praising him.
So, what is the solution for this? How do we escape from this spiral? We need to learn to see our glasses as “half full;” we need to focus on the blessings of God in our lives. And there are many. Sit in your house or your car and look around. Begin to thank God for all the things in your life that you do have. Thank Him for the roof over your head (even if your house is old and decrepit); thank Him for the hot water for your shower or bath this morning; thank Him for the food you ate (even if it wasn’t your favorite); thank Him for your church and the freedom to worship without fear of reprisal; thank Him for the clothing that you wear (even if it is outdated). We have many, many, many things for which to thank our Heavenly Father! And as we learn to thank Him for our multitude of blessings, we will see that our thanksgiving far outweighs our petitions.
How else can we acquire joy in our lives?
Accepting God’s will brings joy
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (You see here, again, is the reference to thanksgiving, as we talked about earlier?) In these three verses are some powerful concepts for living a life in God’s presence and experiencing the fullness of joy.
First, we are told to giving thanks in everything for THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU. We set ourselves up for disappointment when we focus on our hopes and dreams for some nonexistent future. What do I mean by that? We look around ourselves and are discontent with what we have and who we are. So we plan and hope and dream for change with the idea that these changes will somehow make us content and happy. But this future doesn’t exist. These dreams we have will never come true because they are created for the wrong reason and they don’t line up with God’s desires for our lives. We dream them because we are unhappy with our present. Yet, 1 Thess. 5:17-18 tells us to give thanks because . . . THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU.
Do we believe that God is in control of our lives? Do we believe that He loves us enough, cares for us enough and watches over us enough to take care of everything we need? Do we truly believe that? If we did, we would be rejoicing today, giving thanks for everything that we have and are experiencing, because we would be convinced that this is God’s will for us.
My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. “ All things work for my God; consequently, it is not only possible for me to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice always”), it becomes easy for me to rejoice always because everything that is happening to me is for my good!
Living in His presence, we have joy
Psalm 16:11 tells us: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We need to learn to live in God’s presence. (And that means more than simply saying or believing it.)
We all know that the Holy Spirit dwells in us; we say it often and we believe it. But we don’t truly live as if He does. We live, stumbling around in the dark, hoping that we make the right decisions to please a rather vague God and praying that His mercy will be greater than our transgressions. Yet, God has promised that we can live in His presence and it is there that we will know fullness of joy! So, how can we learn to live in God’s presence?
Let’s go back to 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” What is prayer? It is communication with God. Jesus gave us that great example of prayer in the Lord’s prayer. And it is in this prayer that we see one of the keys to living in God’s presence.
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9-13, NAS)
I divided the prayer in half because I wanted to share with you the dynamics of this prayer. The entire first half of the prayer is dedicated to a praise of God. It tell us Who He is (our Father, living in heaven), about His character (His name is holy) and our desires for His will to be done (Your kingdom come, Your will be done here). Jesus begins this prayer, not with a focus on us, but with the focus on God, His abilities, His character, His plans. Why?
First, by focusing on God, we enter into His presence. And when we come into the Throne Room of the Most High and appear before His Holy face, we can do no less than to completely submit ourselves to His love, mercy and kindness to us. Everything else is swept away in the presence of our wonderful and loving Father God. All of our petty concerns, our selfish desires, our ego-centered needs dissolve as we worship the God Who has already promised to supply all of our needs according to His richness in glory through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19).
Second, by focusing on God, we put our own petitions into a proper perspective. It’s not that God didn’t think that we wouldn’t have needs. He made these bodies and He knows that we have need of food and clothing. Matthew 6:31-32 (NAS): "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” And it’s not that we can’t ask God to supply them. Philippians 4:6 (NAS) actually commands us to ask God for our needs: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The point is, we are to be asking with thanksgiving for those things which He has already provided . . . AND . . . with thanksgiving for His promise to supply all our needs.
So we come back to our question – “What is prayer?” Prayer is talking to God–praising Him, worshiping Him, acknowledging His greatness . . . and then . . . telling Him about our needs, all the time, giving thanks for the many, many things He has already given us.
Sacrifices of joy
Psalm 27:6: “And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.“ And the key to this is in the word “sacrifice.”
What is a sacrifice? Well, it was an animal that was killed in order to please God. And we are to give sacrifices of joy. How does that correlate to us? What should we do to give a sacrifice of joy?
A sacrifice surrendered all its rights, hopes, dreams, future plans . . . and life itself . . . for the purpose of being a sacrifice. And that is, in essence, a sacrifice of joy. When we lay down on the altar all our hopes, dreams, future plans and wishes and surrender completely to the will of God for our lives, we are giving Him a sacrifice. And that becomes a joyful sacrifice when we realize that His plans are for our good and are a cause of rejoicing!
Forgiveness Gives Us Joy
Sometimes I think that many of us who have been Christians for a long time have become complacent and unappreciative of the marvelous gift of salvation that God has given to us out of His mercy and lovingkindness. We have been saved so long that we have forgotten that we didn’t merit or earn our salvation; that if it hadn’t been for God’s love, we would have perished in our sins.
After David’s horrible sin with Bathsheba, he writes: “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12, NAS). Confronted with his sin, David realized that he had lost his joy. Only through forgiveness of his sin could David again have the joy of the Lord.
Many of us older, more seasoned Christians have gotten lazy in seeking and searching out the sinfulness in our lives. We dealt with the more visible, “unacceptable” sins early on, but now we live with those comfortable, hidden sins. And we have stopped asking for God to shine the light of His Holy Spirit in the dark corners of our lives where the indulgent sins reside. We have even masked them in “churchy” terms to make them more acceptable. But in the process of accommodating our sins, we have lost our joy. We need to, as David did, cry out to the Lord to reveal the hidden sins of our lives (Psalm 19:12, NIV) and receive God’s forgiveness and joy once again.
God’s Word is our joy
“Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16, NKJ) God has already told where we can find joy–in His Word. Yet, many of us fill our days with words from a multitude of other sources: words from the TV; words from CD’s and cassettes; words from novels; words from the newspaper; words from the Internet. Yet none of these other “words” have promised us joy. We fill our minds and our time with them and then wonder why we have no joy. Why? Because our joy comes only from God’s Word and it is on God’s Word that we should be thinking day and night! (Psalm 1:2).
Recently a wonderful Christian brother came to minister at our church. He shared that he often gets up in the middle of the night to spend four or more hours studying and meditating on God’s Word. Many of the saints of God throughout history spent four, six, eight hours in prayer and meditation of God’s Word. Yet, most of us think that a quicky 3-minute devotion is a true sacrifice. We fail to understand that deeper things of God because we simply don’t give it enough time. And yet, God’s Word has promised us that our joy comes from reading and studying His Word.
So, how can we have more joy in our lives?
A life of survival . . . OR a life of joy! The choice is ours!