Did you know that life with God brings everlasting joy?
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Isaiah 35:10
There can be nothing more life giving than a life given to God! God makes sense of life. God gives meaning, purpose and beauty to the everyday. God brings good news to the oppressed. God binds up the brokenhearted. God announces liberty to those who are held captive. God releases those who have been held in prison. God announces grace to you when you are fearful of judgment and rejection. God provides for those in need. God gives garlands in exchange for their ashes and gladness instead of deep sadness. God gives the gift of praise to those who are fainting with frailty. God makes twigs feel like oaks. God makes the marred into mirrors of His glory. For all these reasons and so many more, allowing what God wants to become the centre of what we want is the pathway to peace and the only journey to true joy.
If you are struggling to understand the idea that your joy can be discovered in what makes someone else happy, then just ask someone who has been truly in love what makes them most happy. It is to see the one they love fulfilled and content. To give someone you love what they want brings the greatest joy to your heart. Above our work, our effort and our stuff, Jesus wants our hearts. When we give Him our hearts, we do what God wants and when we know the joy this brings God, our own lives are inundated with the most wonderful and lasting joy!
(C) Malcolm J. Duncan
Malcolm Duncan 