Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. (James 1:2)
Because joy is an “inside job,” given to us by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we can face trials of any kind and still have the deep and abiding joy that only comes from above. When we face circumstances in life that we don’t enjoy, God has promised us a joy that rises above the circumstances . . . and that joy’s name is Jesus.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we find the joy of the Lord that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), even when waves of challenge are crashing over us. And please note that if/when we choose not to find joy in our difficult circumstances, we will have less joy . . . but still the same amount of difficult circumstances!
Perhaps no one demonstrated this better than the apostle Paul. In spite of being beaten with rods, receiving lashes from a whip five times, and being stoned, shipwrecked, persecuted, and put in prison, he actually wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
When we spend less time grumbling about our circumstances and more time glorying in who Jesus and what He has done, we will experience the joy of the Lord. The Bible makes it clear that a joyless Christian is an oxymoron (that is, a contradiction in terms) because one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22).
The next time you find yourself in circumstances you don’t enjoy — and that may be right now as you are reading this — remember that you can still have joy if you keep your focus on Jesus. Remember, no matter what you are facing or will face in the future, you never face it alone. Jesus is with you, Jesus is for you, and Jesus is in you. Let that truth set you free to experience the joy of the Lord, which is your strength.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 