Walking With Jesus

Need Strength?

“I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:5-6 ESV)

Physical strength varies and is fleeting. I found the legend of Milo of Croton quite intriguing. While on his morning walk as a young boy, he noticed a calf caught in a thicket. Milo picked up the calf and carried it up a hill back to its herd. While weighing only about sixty pounds, it still stressed the young boy to make the trek but sparked in him a plan.

For the next four years he carried what began as a calf, but grew into a bull, up that hill. His strength was incredible and became legendary.

Today the strongest man in the world by many measures is Zydrunas Savickas. What’s my point? Regardless of how great our physical strength becomes, it fades. Our bodies weaken, and we eventually die.

However, in a spiritual sense, our strength in Christ will never die, but will continue to grow stronger until our faith finds its fulfillment in Jesus. The legend of Milo speaks to the progress of the building of our faith as in a very real sense, faith only grows over time with exertion. If we never had a trial or problem, our faith would grow flabby and weak.

As Toby McKeehan observed: “Don’t worry that you’re not strong enough before you begin. It is in the journey that God makes you strong.” That’s all well and good, but what does strengthening faith look like? What is faith at its core and how do we know whether it’s getting stronger or weaker?

Essentially, as a believer in Jesus, our faith is the assertion that Jesus is God in human form, that He died in our place on the Cross, that He overcame death, hell, and the grave through His death when He did what we could never in eternity have done for ourselves. He paid the penalty for our sin and offers us forgiveness and a new life in Him when we seek His forgiveness and pledge our allegiance to Him.

Strength in this context basically means growing in our conviction that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be, increasing in our devotion to Him and our effectiveness and fruitfulness for Him. We “exercise” our spiritual faith “muscles” by investing time and effort in reading and studying God’s Word, the Bible, by spending quality time and effort in learning to pray, then praying regularly and intentionally. It also involves aligning ourselves with other like-minded believers who are at different levels of spiritual maturity, but are all growing in their likeness of their Savior.

Our strength increases when we face various challenges that force us to trust the Lord or may even give rise to doubts. Ultimately, we learn to believe He is with us in our trials and will work the outcome for our good, or we will doubt Him and allow our faith to weaken. Doubts, while not necessarily bad, can lead to deepened faith, as it did with Thomas, or abandoning faith, as it did for Judas.

Craig Groeschel said: “The way we respond to life’s challenges today will determine the strength of our faith tomorrow.” The key, as I understand it, is to allow ourselves to do two things when difficult circumstances threaten our walk with the Lord. First, believe from the outset that the Lord has allowed whatever it is for our good and His glory. And secondly, share our need with believing friends who will support us in prayer and walk with us every step of the way.

Growing faith-strength comes in direct proportion to overcoming trials and difficult circumstances.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Growing Faith

“The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ Jesus responded, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’ Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:25-26 NLT)

Notice a few things in the verses above. First, for the disciples, their drowning was a foregone conclusion. When they went to Jesus, they’d done everything in their power to save themselves. Among them were veteran fishermen who had faced storms like this before, but, apparently, none of this magnitude or intensity.

In their minds, had it not been for Jesus being in the boat, they would have been out of options. We have to believe they exhausted every course of action before disturbing Him, but in desperation they “went and woke Him up, shouting…” Remember, this is still in the early days of Jesus’ ministry, but these men of faith weren’t novices. Most had been Jewish believers and they’d seen miracles and spent several days under the Lord’s instruction. Yet, when this powerful storm hit it’s like their faith was just blown away. It was like they immediately forgot everything they’d ever known about faith and trust in God. Sound familiar?

Another observation. Did you notice at the disciple’s initial shouting out their fears and seeking the Lord’s saving intervention, Jesus responded to them with a simple question and a profound observation: “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” And it was only after this brief interaction that the Bible says: “Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves.” Did you catch that? “THEN!” He wasn’t in any hurry to jump up and do anything.

Jesus didn’t even sense enough danger to rise from His resting place while His friends were having a royal freakout! How could He be so calm? The wind was howling, the boat was obviously being tossed like a rag doll. Why wasn’t HE afraid? The answer is actually very simple. The disciple’s initial conclusion was death by drowning because of their lack of faith. Jesus’ certain conclusion was death of the storm by His strong command!

What’s our takeaway? Faith is not a “one-and-done” process. We don’t say a prayer and immediately become a faith “superhero.” Faith is a journey that demands a learning curve that takes years. We don’t know the exact length of time between the storm on the lake and the disciple’s deaths, but, other than Judas, who betrayed the Lord and hanged himself, and John, who died of natural causes, each of the other disciples died a martyr’s death.

What does that mean? It means their faith grew to enable them to trust the Lord with their very lives. Their faith didn’t waver in the face of the threat of their life, quite unlike their faith in the face of the storm. Their faith had grown and matured to enable them to lay down their lives rather than deny their Savior. Are you there yet? Am I? We may not know with certainty until we face similar circumstances, but we must continually entrust to the Lord our day-to-day concerns that are either building our faith up or tearing it down.

Mark Dever makes an interesting observation when he writes: “The victory we are often granted is not the shortening of the trial but the lengthening of our faith.” Our faith often seems strong until the trial drags on, and with the “howling of the wind and the raging of the sea”our faith falters. Keep the faith, courageous faith warrior! Put your trust in the same Jesus who calmed the sea for the disciples, knowing He will calm your storm when your faith lesson is learned.

Sea still raging? Keep trusting!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

God-sized Prayers

“Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.” (Isaiah 37:20)

*On the 15^th of each month I am privileged to offer a devotion from Sylvia Gunter. Her insights, wisdom and sensitivity to the heart of God move me and I pray will move you as well. Blessings, Ed 😊

Our prayers don’t have to be limited to what we can think of to ask for. God is far greater and more creative. In Isaiah 36-37, Hezekiah and his people are under a vicious attack. It would have been easy for Hezekiah to pray from his perspective: “Our enemy is big. He is taunting us, telling us how defenseless we are. It’s hopeless.” Instead, Hezekiah prayed God-sized prayers.

Beginning in Isaiah 37:15, Hezekiah aligned himself with God’s perspective. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” In verses 17-19 he acknowledges what is true, the situation is dire. But in verse 20, he returns to a God-sized perspective. “Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You, LORD, are the only God.”

I counted 85 words in that prayer in my translation. The result was an angel killed 185,000 Assyrians, a far bigger victory than Hezekiah could have imagined to pray for. God assured Hezekiah in Isaiah 37:32 that the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. Is anybody praying this way? Use Hezekiah’s prayer as a model.

Proclaim the greatness of God amid your situation.

Be honest with God about what you are going through.

Then ask “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven for the glory of Your kingdom.”

And wait expectantly for God-sized answers to prayer.

Taken from Strength To Equal Your Days: A Year of Prayers and Blessings. An archive of past devotionals is available at www.thefathersbusiness.com.

United We Stand

“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.” (Philippians 1:27 NLT)

It’s not enough to be unified under one banner or even one cause. There are numerous “united fronts” that threaten, not only Christianity, but our way of life wherever we live. Paul is very specific when he instructs us to be united under only one authority – the Lordship of Jesus. It’s under that banner alone that we become “citizens of heaven.” But what does that mean? What does that look like in practical terms?

The Scriptures define the quality of life that should be pursued by a Jesus follower, summed up in the 1^st Commandment: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and body, and love others as we love ourselves. That includes not only how we live in relation to fellow Jesus followers, but family, friends, even enemies. The plot thickens because even within the Body of Christ there is significant division.

Ron Hutchcraft addresses this when he writes: “Honestly now, does that describe how God’s people are working where you live? Even in your own church or your ministry? Standing firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel? If not, why not? Have we allowed our distinctives, our denomination, our pride, our competitiveness, our opinions, our turf to keep us from joining hands to rescue the dying people all around us?

That’s unworthy of the Gospel! Let’s not waste any more bullets shooting at our own soldiers. Let’s remember that turf doesn’t matter when people are dying; that what unites us is so much greater than what divides us. The enemy is too powerful, the hour is too late, and the stakes are just too high for us to continue to work in our own separate worlds. United, the army of Christ is unstoppable. Divided, we’re just helping our enemy. United we stand!”

Our incentive to reach lost loved ones and friends is (or should be) a much higher priority than the pettiness which separates us as believers. We don’t have to agree on every point of doctrine to agree that Jesus is our point of reference. Why? Because “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Whose opinions, theories, convictions, or attitudes are right is irrelevant. Who is lost and who is found are our only considerations. And yes, I realize that even among “believers,” some question the salvation of others. Can we leave that in the only Hands that matter and go about our Father’s business with singular focus?

It’s debatable who first said: “The devil is in the details,” but it’s certainly illustrated in the minutia in which we get entangled when it comes to joining ranks to win the lost. I applaud men of God like Dr. Billy Graham and others who have been used of God to unite us across denominational lines for the sake of the lost.

Personally, I don’t care who gets credit when someone puts their faith in Jesus, I’m just ecstatic that they did. It just makes it so much more satisfying when it’s a united effort.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Shifting Focus

“Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2 NLT)

These verses remind me of how the devil will so often redirect our focus to things that may be pressing and pertinent to us but nonetheless are robbing us of joy we could find if we would choose rather to focus on others instead of ourselves.

When the pressures of life, whether physical, financial, relational, mental, emotional, or otherwise, seem to be closing in on us, the enemy will delight in our willingness to gather in upon ourselves and invite all willing to join us in our pity party. “Oh, poor me!” becomes the echoing theme song of our soul as we wallow in the muddy puddles of self-pity.

Granted some attention often needs to be given to the problem with which we wrestle, but the point here is, it shouldn’t lead to or allow the absence of concern for others. I’m always amazed, regardless of how poorly my wife may be feeling, she always puts the needs of others ahead of her own.

That was the attitude of the brothers and sisters of the Macedonian churches mentioned above. They were dirt-poor, but they begged to be included in the offering for their brothers and sisters whom they’d never met, who were hurting elsewhere. I love what Dr. Crawford Loritts writes: “Want fulfillment and joy? Try shifting the focus from what you want, to giving others what they need.”

How might that translate? Depending on our season of life, perhaps it might look like forgoing a “much needed” vacation in favor of investing that money in a young couple with small children who can’t afford a vacation. Or rather than buying a new car we opt instead for a less expensive, but quality used car and “invest” the savings in a grieving widow/widower who may benefit from a visit to their loved ones in another city or country.

Perhaps it could look like taking a friend who is struggling to lunch or dinner or taking a meal to a convalescing neighbor, taking the time to pray with a co-worker or friend from church who is anticipating surgery. There are dozens of ways we can shift the focus from ourselves to others without it costing us a dime. Attentiveness to the needs of others is a discipline that takes time to form, but which pays very rich rewards.

Recently the Lord laid on my heart to write a prayer note for my neighbors. My conviction is, many times the things I do, say, or write may have application to only one or a few people, but I don’t question, I just obey. A few weeks after I passed out the note to each house in my neighborhood, one of my neighbors let me know how much the prayer meant to her. She told me “It caused me to weep.”

She and her husband are elderly and have many physical issues with which they wrestle, and she told me how much she appreciated me sending it. And please know that I don’t like using myself as an example, but that was fresh in my mind and all glory and credit goes to the Lord for how He used it. The point is, do what the Lord prompts YOU to do and sit back with joy to watch how He uses your sacrifices, great or small, to His honor and fame when you just shift your focus from yourself to someone else.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Spiritual Mourning

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:7-10 NLT)

As a follow up to yesterday’s post I wanted to share a few more thoughts related to how vital it is to keep short accounts with God. In the verses above James uses what I consider to be a key term in our battle with ourselves as it relates to sin – HUMBLE! Humility isn’t self-abasement, it’s accurate self-assessment.

The Philosopher Socrates gives us sound advice when he wrote: “Know thyself!” A very helpful way to understand how that works is to do what David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24: We need to allow the Lord to: “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Keeping an open invitation to the Lord to keep our mind and heart in check as it relates to our thought life, is a huge first step in keeping our life in proper alignment with the Lord’s purposes. What we think about comes about, so, to the extent we keep our thoughts aligned with the Lord’s plans, to that extent we’ll allow the Spirit to keep us moving in the right direction.

However, a key element in that process is not only knowing when, but how to come to terms with the sin the Lord reveals in our mind and/or heart. That’s where I believe spiritual mourning comes in. Colin S. Smith describes it this way: “Spiritual mourning is the godly sorrow that produces repentance, and it is blessed because it leads to life. The more you have of this kind of mourning in your life, the more blessed you will be.”

To allow ourselves to mourn spiritually is not unlike mourning in any other way. When we lose a loved one our mourning often initiates with the sorrow we feel because of our loss. We think about occasions when we shared happy memories, things that were positive, good, and may even bring a smile to our face.

But, depending on the nature of the relationship, it may also surface regrets based on what we did or didn’t do in our relationship with that person. In my memories of my parents, I have many very endearing memories of them and some very disappointing memories – not only because they disappointed me, but the many times I disappointed them, in many ways I didn’t even realize until they’d passed.

Spiritual mourning needs to include a realistic assessment of where we currently are in our walk with the Lord. If we’re just starting our journey, we’ll likely fail more frequently in obvious sin choices we’re making because our walk with the Lord is all new and tends to have the messiness of newness because of our still strong attachment to the world; however, gratefully, over time as the tentacles of Satanic oppression lighten, we can focus on giving ourselves more fully, which will entail letting go of some things that are more specific to whatever season we’re in.

The bottom line in whatever season we find ourselves is repenting of anything the Lord makes clear is standing between us and Him. Mourning that separation and loosening our grip on whatever He shows us in favor of our love for Jesus.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Victory In Jesus

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT)

Our final victory won’t be celebrated until we close our eyes in death. In the meantime, life is war and there are always casualties in war. While Satan is a worthy foe and we often find him gloating over us as we stand at the edge of, yet another battlefield filled with our failures, sin is the real enemy with which we must reckon.

As we progress in our walk with the Lord sin will manifest itself in different, maybe even less obvious ways, but it still has an end game – our defeat. What might that look like? Perhaps the most prominent evidence of defeat in our lives as Jesus followers is discouragement.

Many of us who have walked with the Lord for many years don’t wrestle so much with the gross, outward manifestations of sin – drugs, alcohol, pornography, immorality, gossip, etc. No, our most prominent battlefields are between our ears, in our mind and heart. My temptation isn’t to be unfaithful to my wife, it’s to disrespect her by not listening carefully, not only to her words, but to her heart.

We may no longer frequent the bars or stay on the phone or other devices gossiping, but we waste time in other ways; when we should be investing in reading and studying God’s Word, in people we know who don’t know Jesus or who may just need a word of encouragement.

The point is simply this, sin is sin regardless of how we may view it. There is no “little” or “big” sin. ALL sin separates us from our Father, thus, every sin matters. That’s why I’ve mentioned in some of my articles that I intentionally keep short accounts with God. How so? As soon as He alerts me to something I’ve done, said, or thought, that was inappropriate and/or unpleasing to Him, I immediately confess that it was sin and seek His forgiveness and, if necessary, the forgiveness of whomever else I may have hurt.

Trevin Wax was on to something important when he wrote: “The victorious Christian life isn’t the sinless life; it’s the repentant life.” Yet, even as I write these words, it occurs to me that even this process can be discouraging and distracting. Living in victory, freedom from sin, can become a way of life, yes, but even not having to deal with constant sin has its own issues. The Spirit is our Guide and Protector and can enable us by His presence to overcome sin before it begins, but pride can easily sneak in while we’re inwardly congratulating ourselves.

We don’t have to live under the tyranny of ever-present defeat and discouragement. Walking with Jesus can be liberating and enjoyable as we train our heart, mind, and spirit to STAY in tune with the Holy Spirit’s voice and leadership.

When our focus is on Jesus and not on ourselves, our attention can, will, and must be on investing ourselves in His holy agenda, not ours. To the extent we’re able to follow and abide by the Lord’s directives, we’ll find peace, harmony with the Lord, and victory over sin. However, we can never, as long as this body has breath, assume we’re EVER above sin, in the sense that we’re no longer subject to or able to succumb to the temptation to disobey a clear directive of our Master.

If or when that happens, it should be a HUGE red flag that should immediately drive us to the Savior’s feet in repentance and grieving sorrow. One day soon sin will no longer be an issue, but until then we must keep our heart in check and our eyes on Jesus.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are They True?

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT)

You know this, but I’m going to remind you: the person you lie to the most is the person you see every day in the mirror. Yep! That one! And it’s funny because depending on our mood and/or circumstances on any given day, we lie to convince ourselves we’re really good on one day, but later that day or the next, we lie to convince ourselves we’re really not that good after all.

Which is it? Likely neither, but maybe both! Yeh, I get how helpful that is. Seriously, the “lie” we most often tell ourselves is that something is true when it isn’t. For example, the washer breaks and “We need a new house!” Or we have a flat tire and our answer is: “I need a new car!” Or our child breaks something valuable to us and we overreact by berating them, calling them clumsy or stupid, not because they are, but we remember that’s how our parents responded to us.

These are lies exaggerated by our, unfortunately, but easily (under most circumstances) correctable situations. But more tragically, we berate ourselves, calling or implying to ourselves we’re “stupid, clumsy, a bad parent/employee/employer/neighbor/___________.” And maybe we are in a moment, but a moment doesn’t have to translate into a lifetime.

Pastor Rick Warren wisely wrote: “Nothing in your life can change until you know and face the truth. Why? It’s because behind every self-defeating habit in your life is a lie that you believe.” “How am I lying to myself?” You may wonder? One of the most common phrases I used to use in reference to myself was: “You ALWAYS” or “You NEVER” do ______________.“ Whether it had to do with eating, exercising, working late (or not late enough), not reading the Bible, attending church, loving my wife, kids, neighbors, the dog, or the garbage man enough. It was never enough or always done in the wrong way. I believed the lie I was incapable of acting or being any different. But here’s the truth: Because of Jesus anyone can change!

Whatever it is for you, cut yourself some slack. Yes, usually where there’s smoke there’s fire, but exaggerating the truth (lying 😊) isn’t the solution. Start at the beginning, with your walk with Jesus. If you don’t yet know Jesus, that’s the first step. If you don’t have anyone with whom you can speak regarding how to give your life to Jesus, go to Ron Hutchcraft’s the Bridge to God, then follow up by going to his website. Or contact me directly at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com.

If you have a relationship with Jesus (and “no,” going to church doesn’t constitute a relationship with Jesus 😊). Having a relationship with Jesus involves seeking intimacy with Him often throughout your day – in prayer, reading His Word, studying and memorizing His Word, fellowshipping regularly with other believers in worship and small group settings, sharing Him with others and basically just basking in His presence. And yes, this is a lifelong process. It begins very slowly but accelerates over your lifetime.

That’s the place to begin, because as you read and understand the Bible you’ll better understand yourself. In some ways the Bible is like a mirror in that it shows you ways to conduct yourself and think about yourself that are contrary to what you see or hear in the world (the mirror). It’s not only okay to love yourself, it’s required in order to appropriately love your spouse and children (if you’re married) or others if you’re not.

The bottom line is, the more appropriately we learn to speak truth to ourselves, the more effectively we’re going to be able to receive the Lord’s love for us and allow Him to offer His love more fruitfully through us to others.

And the truth should begin with: “I am a child of God!”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Broken But Deeply Loved

“Long ago the Lord said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT)

Love is hard. It’s hard to give, but sometimes even harder to receive. Why do you think that is? Perhaps the Prophet Jeremiah was on to something when he wrote: “For My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned Me – the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

What rich imagery describing the plight of mankind in 2025. How ignorant we are of the simple, yet profound truth that God loves us. We desperately need love, yet we’re too stubborn to see it, but the Lord keeps reaching, seeking, extending His grace to each of us. His living water is flowing, but our broken lives can’t hold it. What are we to do?

Perhaps the answer lies in our willingness to see God’s love for us personally. What if rather than seeing or hearing God’s Word say: “For God so loved the world,” we saw it and read it, “For God so loved ME!”

We carry so much baggage it’s hard to raise our head enough to view the face of the Master as He hangs on the Cross. We know and realize, at least intellectually, that He died for the world. But it’s not until we can see in His holy, pain-filled face, His love for ME! His agonizing sacrifice for ME! It’s not until we can finally view that Cross and say: For ME! that it will finally “click,” finally begin to make sense that I should put my trust in Him and yield my life and allegiance to Him.

Paul declares in Romans 3:24: “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People (YOU and me) are made right with God when they (You and me) believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood (in OUR place).”

Jesus didn’t deserve to be on that Cross – you and I DID! He took our rightful place, the place we deserved to be to die for our sins, the very sins that nailed Him there. Hell is real. Jesus talked about Hell more than He talked about heaven.

Whether the descriptions are literal or figurative is immaterial. The point is, hell is separation from God, the God who has made a way for us to be saved, forgiven, to escape hell and find a place in heaven. To miss heaven is a mistake. It’s just plain dumb. It’s like offering a starving person food, but they refuse to eat. Yes, maybe they’re at the point of needing intravenous feeding, but the point is the same – COME TO JESUS!

If you want to die, I get it. Been there. But what I didn’t understand was that I was already dead in my sin. What I was feeling was designed by God to help me understand my desperation without Him. Once I gave my life to Jesus, He freed me from the penalty of my sin, not only eternal hell, but the hell I was living with on this earth.

Jesus is a lot of things, but He’s not a liar. He only tells the truth. He didn’t have to do what He did, but volunteered because He knew if He didn’t die in our place there would be no other way for us to be forgiven and given the new life necessary to qualify us for heaven.

Like me, you are broken without Jesus. Let Him mend your brokenness today. Please, I implore you, come to Him today. Find the peace for which you’ve been searching. Put an end to your misery by saying “yes” to Jesus!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Secret of Joy

“’Why are you frightened?’ He asked, ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at My hands. Look at My feet. You can see that it’s really Me. Touch Me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.’ As He spoke, He showed them His hands and His feet. Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then He asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’” (Luke 24:38-41 NLT)

So many questions are answered in these few verses, but since our focus is joy, let me make a few observations. We tend to think of joy simply as an emotion, yet these disciples had fear and doubt (vs 38), disbelief and wonder (vs 41), but were still “filled with joy.” Their emotions were on high alert, but in spite of several negative feelings, they were still able to experience an inner certainty that what they were seeing and experiencing was real and life-transforming.

As I understand it, joy is a revelation, an attitude, a decision to respond to a given circumstance in a positive, affirming way. It’s what happens when you hear things like: “It’s a healthy girl/boy!” “The results of your cancer tests are all negative!” Yes, of course, you’re happy, but it’s so much more than an emotion. It’s a peace in your soul that something is very right, and God is the Author of it.

We sometimes wrongly surmise that if we only had a different spouse, job, physical body (looks), felt better physically, emotionally, or had more money (a better financial situation), or could just be ANYPLACE except where we are, we’d have joy! We might be happier for a few seconds, but none of those things would necessarily give us joy.

Elisabeth Elliot was right when she wrote: “The secret of joy is Christ in me, not me in different circumstances.” The fact is, joy isn’t a secret at all, it’s a decision. We can have just received incredibly bad news, be having excruciating pain, be stranded on the side of the road in an ice storm and have no cell phone service, be falling from an airplane and our parachute not open, but we can still have joy if we know Jesus. He is the reason for our joy.

As evidenced in the verses above, we can experience many positive emotions and not have joy, or many negative emotions and still have joy. Joy isn’t initiated or denied by outside circumstances, it’s governed by an internal confidence that the Lord is ultimately in control and my life is in His capable hands.

It’s helpful to know that the Lord doesn’t allow any circumstance, good or bad, to enter our lives except it passes through the filter of His permission. Does that mean He causes everything? No, but He does allow it, but only if it will ultimately serve Him in the accomplishment of His divine and perfect purposes. His intentions for us are for good and ultimately the best good for any of us is Him.

What if my body is ravished with disease and I’m in constant pain? How does that honor God? IT doesn’t, but you do by how you manage the circumstances you have. If you’re constantly complaining and making everyone around you miserable, that doesn’t honor the Lord. However, if, like Paul and Silas after having been beaten severely and chained in a Roman prison, you can still sing, praise, and honor the Lord in your trial, that is a source of honor to the Lord and gives greater evidence of your love and dependence upon Him than all the days of your health.

Therein is the “secret” revealed of your joy and its true source.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊