If You Want Joy, Real Joy, Wonderful Joy

For most people, their level of happiness will depend on the things happening to them. As Christians, we have an inner happiness and peace which is there all the time, independent of our circumstances. Many Christians endured years of suffering in communist prisons. They forgot what bright colours looked like. One of them said Dante's poems and all the medieval paintings about Hell could not compare to the horrors of a communist prison. Nevertheless, they felt the presence of Christ and were full of the joy of the Lord. We believe in him and have hope for the future. We will be rewarded in Heaven after we die but eternal life starts now. Not having seen him, we know him and love him and are loved by him. God's Spirit is already living in us and is at work in us, transforming and renewing us, refining us like gold in the fire. 1Peter 1:3-9. We were pre-destined to be adopted as his sons before the dawn of time. He has forgiven our sins. Ephesians 1:3-14. We are already seated with him in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 2:1-7. Jesus will come back to take us to be with him where he is. John 14:1-4. We pass through hard times but we know that God will deliver us. One day, he will compensate us for all the bad things that have happened in our lives. He will give us back the years the locusts have eaten. Joel 2:21-27. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. Psalm 126:4-6. The gospel is good news for the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom to those who are downtrodden and brings us all into God's favour. Luke 4:18,19. The apostle Paul suffered a great deal for being a missionary. He was shipwrecked, he was stoned, he was whipped and beaten, he was sent to prison. 2Corinthians 11:23-33. He describes the thorn in the flesh that God had given him. He asked three times that this be taken away but God refused. People have argued about what this thorn in the flesh was but I think it represents the stress of his job. God told him, 'My grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in weakness.' 2Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul learned the secret of being content in any situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in need. Philippians 4:10-14. We should consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds because the testing of our faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-4. We should consider ourselves privileged if we suffer in the same way that Jesus Christ suffered. If we suffer like Christ we also have his Spirit living inside us. We will also meet Jesus when he comes to rule on the Earth. 1Peter 4:12-14. Paul and Silas were singing and praising God while chained to the walls of a dark, dirty, rat infested prison. There was an earthquake and the doors flew open. This resulted in the jailer's entire family finding Jesus. Acts 16:22-40.

God sets us free from everything that has happened in our past. We should feel no guilt. We have been forgiven for our sin, not so that we can go on sinning but so that we can lay aside the weight of it and run the race unhindered. Hebrews 12:1,2. God sets us free from the power of our sinful habits and we are no longer trapped by them. He breaks the power of unseen thoughts that invade our minds when we don't want them to. 2Corinthians 10:3-6. Before, our minds were hostile to God and couldn't understand God. Now, the Spirit of God is living inside us and we are able to understand what God wants. Romans 8:1-11. God has put his law into our hearts and minds. Hebrews 10:16,17. We feel close to God because we are in fellowship with him. We are walking in the light with God and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:5-10. Before we found Jesus we could not feel God because our sins had separated us from God. We have overcome the world and are no longer captive to sinful habits that we can't control. We can love God and follow his commandments and it is not burdensome to us. 1John 5:1-4. God can accept you back and restore you even if you have done something terribly wrong. Peter said to Jesus, 'Why can't I follow you where you are going? I will lay down my life for you.' Jesus said, 'Will you really? No you won't. You will deny that you even know me.' John 13:36-38. A few hours later Jesus was arrested and Peter was standing by the fire warming himself. They asked him if he was one of Jesus' disciples. He denied it. John 18:25-27. Nevertheless, Jesus reappointed him to do his work in the church and asked, 'Do you love me? Feed my sheep.' John 21:15-17. The prodigal son wasted all of his father's money on prostitutes and sin. Nevertheless, when his father saw him coming home, he ran to meet him. 'This is my son, who I thought had died. Now he has returned. Let's have a big party to celebrate.' Luke 15:11-32.

Jesus took our sorrow and our infirmity, our hurt and our pain, when he died on the cross. We can be healed from past trauma and from painful memories. Isaiah 53:1-6. God turns our mourning into dancing so that our spirits will praise him. Psalm 30:10-12. He forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit and satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:1-5. God will be with us even if we pass through the shadow of death and bring us out to a place of green pastures. Psalm 23. Sheep in Israel had to be farmed in a harsh environment and the sheep had to be led a long distance to find fresh grass and water. We should focus our minds on the word of God because it is health to a man's whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22. Jesus says we have peace but not as the world gives. John 14:27. God is living inside us by the power of his Holy Spirit and he did not give us a Spirit of fear but a Spirit of love, power and a sound mind. 2Timothy 1:7. God heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:1-3.

Being at peace in ourselves means being at peace with everyone else. We need to forgive others just as God has forgiven all of our sins. Jesus told the story of a man who had been forgiven a huge amount of debt but went and found a servant who owed him a tiny amount of money. He demanded that the servant paid him what he owed. The judge had the man thrown in prison and handed him over to the tormentors. Matthew 18:21-35. If we bear a grudge, we are the ones who suffer. I have suffered from nightmares and depression and realise that this has much to do with not being able to forgive people who have wronged me. If the church is to be the body of Christ its members must be at peace with one another. Only then can the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Colossians 3:15. We shouldn't worry about things, we should pray about things. Then the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We will rejoice in the Lord continually if we have peace in our hearts and our minds are focused on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Philippians 4:4-8.

Sometimes we can't understand why something bad has happened. We don't have to know all the answers to everything. The secret things belong to God but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever. Deuteronomy 29:29. Even if we don't understand it, we can be sure that God has a plan and that he will bring something good out of it and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:28-38.