Joy in God’s Purposes

Joy! Oh, to have more joy. Not just happiness, but the Fruit of the Spirit that the Bible calls Joy. Joy is not like happiness. Happiness is a circumstantial thing, like the tide - it ebbs and flows according to mood, whims, and feelings. Joy, however, according to the bible, is constant - it is not tied to our physical circumstances or feelings. In fact, we are commanded to be joyful always! Is this possible? Is this just more Christianese? More Pollyanna, pie-in-the-sky type rhetoric that well meaning Christians like to traffic in but don't really take into consideration the fact that life is hard and bad things happen to good people?This Sunday we’ll talk about joy that is unshakable, abundant, and is even there when you are weeping! I know this is true because of Jesus. Even at the hardest places, Jesus had joy. It was, “for the joy set before him he went to the cross.” No one was more aware of the brokenness of the world than Jesus and yet he was the man of joy - so it is possible. In our text this week, we will look at Paul while he was in prison talking about how even in the hard place he is in, he is full of joy. He experiences joy, not only in spite of his bitter circumstances, but because of them. Sure, he didn’t ask to be put in prison. He wasn’t a masochist, but as Paul looks at Jesus and puts his life in the perspective of God’s eternal purposes and overwhelming goodness -he is laughing!I don’t know about you, but I want that life and the abundance that flows from the cross and God’s overwhelming love for sinners like us. Hope to see you Sunday as we talk about “Joy in God’s Purposes.”Blessings,Jim