JOY

Do you ever feel like God is trying to get your attention? I do sometimes. I usually get this feeling when the same thing keeps popping up in different areas of my life. For instance, this week we studied joy . . . my pastor preached on joy . . . I taught on joy . . . then, when I got home from Bible study a friend had sent me this quote on joy:

"You must rejoice in God,

or you will not rejoice at all.

Earthly comforts are not yours.

But if you grasp the spiritual and the eternal,

you will not worry." - Spurgeon

God must really want my attention. In fact, He won't stop hounding me. Just this morning the Holy Spirit reminded me of a passage of Scripture that puts a new spin on joy. In Acts 5 the apostles were arrested for preaching the gospel. They were beaten, released and threatened with further persecution if they chose to continue preaching Christ. Acts 5:41-42 reads:

After their release, the apostles went out "rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

Wow, what a perspective on joy and suffering! The disciples didn't chose joy despite their adverse circumstances. They chose joy as a direct result of their adversity. Although these men were undoubtedly still feeling the physical effects of their beating, they were spiritually rejoicing because they had "been considered worthy to suffer." Have you ever considered suffering a privilege? This puts a new spin on the command to choose joy in the midst of adversity.

Because the disciples had an eternal perspective, they were able to proclaim Christ, despite the fact that they were humiliated and hurting. 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to always be ready to make a defense of the hope we have within us. As we walk this path of transformation together, let's follow the example of Jesus' first disciples. Let's rejoice that we've been considered worthy to suffer and keep proclaiming Jesus . . . no matter what.

Choosing Joy Together –

Janet

Praising Under Pressure

As many of you know, our family spent most of  2010 caring for my mom who was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. After nine months of chemotherapy, hospital visits and hospice care, mom passed away on July 10, 2010.  Recently I heard Priscilla Shirer teach and she had this definition of the abundant life:

“The abundant life is when,
in the midst of your impossible situation,
you say, ‘Now is the time!’”

She also defined a doxology as “an outpouring of praise, worship and honor to God” and reminded us that God is able to do more than we can ask or think (Eph. 3).  She called Ephesians chapter 3 “Paul’s doxology of Praise” and encouraged us to offer up praise in the midst of difficult times.  Following her prompting, I stopped what I was doing and began offering up my own doxology of praise.  After making my list of God’s attributes I picked up my journal and went to work penning a new doxology.

This habit of doxology writing began several years ago when I started journaling through the Psalms.  When I journal, I usually read a Psalm and then rewrite it in my own words.  As I put my praise on paper I focus on what the Psalm tells me about God.  Psalm 145 is one of my favorites.  In this chapter of Scripture the author, David, declares that God is:

Great
Worthy of Praise
Unsearchable
Mighty
Glorious
Majestic
Gracious
Merciful
Full of Lovingkindness

Although I know now is the time to mourn the loss of my mom, I also know that now is the time for worship. On the day after my mom passed away, I was so overwhelmed by God’s grace that a doxology spilled out onto my journal.  Here’s an excerpt:

“You alone are God.  You alone are the Holy One.  You alone are my King.  I worship You.  I rejoice in Your goodness.  I proclaim Your mercies.  I exalt You as God and King – may you reign in my heart forever.”

By God’s grace I am living the abundant life and I am so thankful that Jesus came to give us life and to give it abundantly (John 10:10). I am praying for you this week and it is my prayer that in the midst of the impossible a doxology of praise will spill out.