Dear Friend,
Did you ever lose your joy? I know there have been times in my
life when I have, and I suspect there are times when you have as well.
I recently was talking with a pastor friend of mine who was going
through a rough patch in his life. He was struggling to find a sense of purpose
in his life and in his ministry, but it had eluded him.
He was thinking of leaving his church, and one day he was talking
to a friend about his situation. “I am just unable to find any joy in my
ministry anymore,” he told him.
The wise friend said, “I know the answer to your problem: You are
looking for joy in the wrong place. You will never find it in your ministry,
nor will you find it in your finances, your family, or anything else. The kind
of joy you are seeing will never be found in anything related to life’s
circumstances for joy that is of lasting value can only be found in the Lord”.
My friend told me those words completely transformed his thinking
about his ministry, and I am happy to say he decided to continue pastoring his
church. My friend, like many of us, was looking for joy ‘in all the wrong
places.’
Joy that is permanent and transformational is never found in life
but in only in the Lord.
The Bible reminds us that, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.”
Joy comes from Jesus.
Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord, always” and that includes in
the midst of every trial and every circumstance.
Larry Crabb writes, “Many of us place top priority not on
becoming Christ-like in the midst of our problems, but on finding happiness. I
want to be happy, but the paradoxical truth is that I will never be happy if
I’m concerned primarily with becoming happy. My overriding goal must be in
every circumstance to respond biblically, to put the Lord first, to seek to
behave as he would want me to. The wonderful truth is that as we devote all our
energies to the task of becoming what Christ wants us to be, he fills us with
joy unspeakable and a peace far surpassing what the world offers.”
He continues, “Paul said it was his ambition (goal) not to become
happy, but to please God at every moment. What a transforming thought! When I
drive my car to work and someone cuts me off, when my kids act up during
church, when the dishwasher breaks…my primary responsibility is to please God”
(Effective Biblical Counseling, Lawrence Crabb, pp. 20-21).
Simply put, if you want to be happy, you won’t find it by seeking
after happiness which is so elusive. You will only find it through seeking God.
And when you do, you will not only discover happiness in the process, but some
even greater-joy, real joy that is never dependent on circumstances, but is
always dependent on the Lord.
I am not sure who said it, but long ago I committed it to memory:
“Joy is the flag flying high above the castle of the heart, announcing that the
king is in residence there.”
So, let’s hoist high our flag and boldly wave it for all to see
the King who resides at home with our hearts.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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