Feeling Joyful lately?

I will readily admit that 2020 has created more pessimism and anger in my life than just about any year I can remember. It’s very easy for me to justify my feelings and attitudes by just saying, “But Lord, it’s 2020.” Yet the patient and loving voice of my Savior keeps whispering, “Mike, Where’s your joy?”

In the last hours of Christ’s life and ministry, he spoke to his disciples about their need to stay connected to Him. In John 15:11, he says, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” The statement is telling of Christ’s heart for us. It is also a reminder of where our joy as believers comes from.

The real joy of a believer is not based on the circumstances around us; it’s based on abiding in the love and dependence of our Savior. It’s found in communion and relationship with God.

There is a definite connection in Scripture with the joy of the Lord in our lives and the Godly influences we let into our lives and our personal saturation of the Lord. Yes, I specifically said saturation. Watching cooking shows reminds me of when you inject liquids into meat or marinade meats for long periods of time with certain spices and flavors. Then voila’ amazingly, it tastes like those flavors. Our lives, in the same way, should be saturated by the things of Christ. Our lives as believers in Christ need to be saturated by Him. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:15, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” So stink like Jesus in the joy of the LORD!

My prayer for all of us this week is that we will experience the joy of the Lord as we allow Him to saturate our lives through the simple things we already know how to do but don’t.

Turn off the News, Study our Bibles. Less Social Media, More Prayer.

And instead of politics and protests, we get back to sharing the Gospel and serving our communities with the life-changing and healing reality of Christ!