June 26, 2016
Dear Grandchildren:
I’ve been thinking for some time about something Graham Cooke once said in a CD teaching I received a few years ago. He stated that the joy-filled life of a Christian is something that should make a tremendous difference from those who are not Christians.
Wow! That’s quite a statement that Graham makes, and for the next few letters I’d like to dig into the Scriptures to try to explain or better understand why this is true.
What is the secret to a joy-filled life? Does such a thing even exist? Since the beginning of time, mankind has searched just about everywhere in hopes of finding out the secret. Today, most people are trying to find joy in something or someone outside of themselves.
But exactly where did God place this secret to a joy-filled life? Yes, the secret of living a joy-filled life lies within us.
As humans, we search for joy in all the wrong places and what we receive is just a sampling of the real deal, a clever counterfeit to genuine joy. We look outside, not inside. The secret to a joy-filled life is so close, so obvious, that inside is often the last place we look.
Living with joy is God’s intention for all his children. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the Apostle Paul writes, “Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) Yes, God has declared us worthy to receive blessings of overflowing joy. As a result, we have a calling, a responsibility to express and demonstrate joy through the way we live.
Being joy-filled does not mean that your life is perfect. Who can claim that? It doesn’t even mean that your life is great. What it does mean is that you emphatically trust God and believe that he has great plans for your life, regardless of what is happening right now.
Joy is an outward sign of an inward faith in the promises of God. Joy is not a distant destination at which you arrive; rather, it’s a path you choose to travel each day.
Dear Grandchildren, don’t get joy mixed up with happiness. Happiness is ok and is a result of happy incidents in your life. Some examples are: “ She made me feel happy”. ”I’m happy we won the game.” “I’m happy I received an A on that test.” But joy is much different because it comes from our creator God and it’s not based on happy incidents.
Joy is within us, and it’s released when we focus on the God who created us. Over the next few letters, I’d like to share how the Apostle Paul lived a life of joy in spite of his many unhappy experiences.
In closing, remember that when we are living out God’s joy-filled life, the world didn’t give us joy, so the world can’t take it away.
Until next month,
Love,
Grandpa