God of Joy
God wants you to be happy. Scripture is full of passages like these:
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4
I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. – John 10:10b
I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. – John 15:11
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit – Romans 14:17
But the fruit of the Spirit is … joy – Galatians 5:22
It’s not the joy of a spoiled child who gets everything he wants, though. Our Father works us hard to lead us into true joy:
Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:7-11
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. – 2 Timothy 2:3-5
But he never forces us to do his will. We are children of a loving father, not slaves of an evil master:
This is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden – 1 John 5:3
Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7
God offers us joy, and he will lead us there if we’ll let him. So discerning his will is often as easy as just choosing the option that brings us the greatest real joy.
Buying a Car
Here’s an example. Imagine it’s time to buy a car. You have two choices: new or used.
In 2019, the average car payment for a new car was $554. The average payment for a used car was $391.1 That’s a difference of $163 every month.
Every single month, that $163 is enough to:
- Deliver thirty-three Bibles into an area where it is almost impossible to find a copy of the Scriptures.
- Get eighty people off the street and give them a warm meal and a warm bed for the night.
- Provide a Bible to twenty-three persecuted Christians and train them to read it, preach from it, and tell others about Jesus.
- Give emergency medical insurance to sixty-eight children.
- Buy groceries for six families who would otherwise go without.
- So much more…
$163 a month is also enough to save the lives of 4 children — house them, feed them, clothe them, teach them about Jesus, and lift them out of abject poverty forever.
Which would bring you more joy? Driving a new car, or driving a slightly older car and doing one of these things.
See what we mean about choosing the joy?
What is Truly Life
When we turn the focus from what we’re giving up to what we’re getting, decisions get so much easier.
Giving from what God has given us is not an obligation, it’s an opportunity — an opportunity for immediate joy and for joy eternal.
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Choose the joy!
Feature Photo by Nathan Dumlao