Tag: Joy

Genesis 45:8, “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.”

Today Joseph visited me. He wanted to remind me of something. Remember, Joseph is the guy that alienated himself from his brothers. He listened from the bottom of a well as they bartered away his life. His flesh and blood despised him so much they sold him to an infidel as a slave. Later he was wrongfully accused and sent to prison. Despite all Joseph had been through because of his brothers’ actions, he held no animosity toward them. Instead, he believed the hand of God was in everything.

Joseph reminded me of Ester and Jonah and others in the bible that endured heartbreak and calamity on the path to great things. Joseph consented to God’s power and had hope because of it. Jonah feared God’s providence and ran from it. Ester had to be told by Mordecai. They all were on the path to greatness, but greatness was over the horizon out of view.

I am always reminded that great stories start from great sadness. We love the joy of overcoming and sometimes fly over the journey. We gravitate to the feel-good ending without savoring the life they lived. No one wants to retire in war-torn Beirut. We do not want to talk ourselves to sleep at night by reliving the struggles; we want to bask in the overcoming’s glory.

As I struggle through this day, Joseph reminds me that his journey was critical to his prosperity. It is through his story that he  has value. The things I face today can either be obstacles in the way of my happiness or stepping stones to God’s glory. It is my choice.

John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.”

The bible is very clear that we will all face struggles in this world. Some of those struggles are of the nascence variety; some are devastating. Their value is mostly seen in the rearview mirror of life. The path is seldom flat, and wide, and lined with flowers. There are a lot of hills and rocks and roots. We shouldn’t lose sight that every twist and turn has meaning and value; God’s cemented His plans in everyday actions.

I love Mordecai’s statement to Ester:

Esther 4:14b, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

What we face; what we endure; what we triumph over is part of the fabric of our lives. It is part of the great tapestry God created for you before you came into existence. It is one of the greatest stories ever told, written by the most incredible author in the universe. It is meant to be lived. As hard as that may seem at times, it is true. Joseph was in a well listening to his family, betray him. Ester lost her family and was sent into exile to serve a pagan king. Jonah survived in the stomach of a whale. Each of these had their moments. We, too, will have ours.

It is what we do in those moments that define us. It is who we see in the mirror that determines our greatness. Our efforts do not create our greatness, but the action of the one who made us just for this moment. The courage we must muster is not the courage to overcome, but the courage to reach out our hand and ask our creator to take over; not to struggle and persevere, but to fall into His grace and turn the fight over to Him. Only through Him can we prevail. We can’t see over the horizon, but He can.

We live in trying times. Our plans are on hold, and the future became a fog of uncertainty. God knew this. It is part of His plan for you. It is times as these where we as Christian become separated from the weeds.

Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.'”

When our time comes, we want people to remember our greatness. We want them to remember how we held tight to God’s promise. We want them to remember when we could have taken the low road, but chose to have faith. We were born for times, such as these.  It is in these moments that God marvels of the greatness He created in us, and the greatness we chose to pursue. Today, choose to make God smile.

Peter Pan said, “You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.”

Peter wasn’t wrong. Paul put it a little differently.

Philippians 3:7, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Many people, men, more likely, have sacrificed everything else to gain power, privilege, wealth, or fame. The worldly trappings and the expectations of others drove their view of self-worth; they believed Peter Pan before they believed Paul. They thought that the uneasiness they felt was the product of not having enough. It was just the next thing that would make a difference. Many would look back on their lives and see that they had sacrificed everything in vain.

I don’t want to be that man. I want my life to count for something. I want to leave a legacy that will echo through eternity. In my death, I want to be bigger than life itself.

Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”

The world pulls at us with the gravitation pull of the Sun. It wants to keep us in its orbit of mundane, meaningless accomplishments. Eventually, our orbit will decay, and we will find nothing but a fiery finish. When the time has run out, we will realize that all that we accumulated will either be forgotten or exploited by others we have never met. We cannot reach back for a do-over. The do-over starts now.

Ecclesiastes 5:15, “Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.”

Joy is a choice, and God wants us to choose joy, but happiness is also part of God’s plan. Not perpetual happiness with laughs and birthday cake, but true deep down happiness that grows from the soul. The type of happiness that brings tranquil sleep. It is a happiness that radiates throughout your body in quiet moments of reflection. It is a contentment that nothing else can give.

Peter Pan also said, “Never is an awfully long time.” To never experience the pure love of Christ is indeed a long time. It makes life a marathon in Death Valley, rather than a walk in the park. To always have to trust in yourself is exhausting. To always have to know the answers, have the plan, make a move, is to live a  life full of anxiety and worry.

Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Seeking His kingdom and His righteousness is not just to put your sights on eternity with Christ; it is to live a life worth living here on Earth. It is to free yourself from chasing the esteem from others and only pursuing God. It is about having the type of faith that knows that Christ is with you, and your needs will be met. There will be setbacks and challenges, but you are not in it alone. You do not have to create the person that God wants you to be; God already created them; you have to find them within yourself.

Peter Pan, “To have faith is to have wings.”

Peter Pan wasn’t all wrong, but I’ll take Paul.