At the center of our joy that God gives us is our Lord and Savior, Jesus. He is our core.
He is the heart of our faith and thanksgiving. Our joy is predicated on letting Christ have His way in our lives and transforming us top to bottom into what He is. In Christ, we are “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (Colossians 1:11).
When we have joy in Jesus, it’s absolutely complete joy within us. It’s not just a feeling of happiness we get on an occasional, emotional high. It’s “joy inexpressible and full of glory” that continues in us and through us even when we face challenging and difficult times (1 Peter 1:8).
Have you thought how easy it is for our mood to change from gladness to sadness at the drop of a hat? Have you ever wondered why our feelings of hope and peace can so easily turn into the dark night of the soul? Have you discovered how fickle people seem to be in your life? Or how the norms of this world’s standards seem to shift and drift in the wind?
While we cannot depend on human relationships to give us fulfillment in this world, we can depend on the joy of a God who never fluctuates or wavers. We have continuous, unceasing joy because of whom we know our Savior to be. It’s not reliant on our changing circumstances or how we feel at the moment. It’s not based on the randomness of human events or unstable emotion. Our joy is based and perfected in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the firm anchor for our faith in whom we can always trust and believe. His blessings are real and so is our joy that is based firmly in Him.
~Roone Acree
Christ Fellowship