Joy

     We want to be happy. We want our kids to be happy. Our culture tells us we deserve to be happy. The Bible leads us into something more; a deep, soul-filling joy. Yes, there is a difference. Happiness relies on circumstances. To be happy, this has to happen; the right job, the perfect partner, the deserved vacation, or___.  You fill in the blank. What blanks are you waiting to be filled in order to be happy? It is an unrealistic goal to be perpetually happy.

     No matter how we try to fill our lives, without Jesus, they remain half-emptyThere will forever and always be a God-sized hole. Jesus promises us a joy that can never be removed. I have seen this deep joy in others around me; in my friend, still suffering the repercussions of a severe stroke over nine years ago. I have seen it in a woman I visited over the years, suffering with heart failure, an oxygen tank and blindness. How?

     They know Jesus. They know Him intimately. He is real. He is there. He fills them with true joy. Every step they take relies on Him. Every word they speak is spoken in service to Him. They give to others sacrificially, even in a state that the world would look at as “unhappy.” Don’t rule your life based on finding fleeting happiness. The happenings in our life don’t guarantee a worldly contentment.

     But Jesus does. He will bless us no matter what. He will fill our souls with His kind of love. And it is heavenly.

Jesus,

Only You have the way, the truth and the life. It is an abundant life. The life that is led by You offers deep joy. Lead us into that kind of joy. It is unlike any other.

Amen