Serving our Father God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Holy Spirit filled ministry since 1997!
Serving our Father God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Holy Spirit filled ministry since 1997!
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
A friend, who is constantly living in fear and anxiety, asked me, “How can I be joyful when there is so much pain and suffering in our country? How can I not be worried about what’s going on today?” I responded that if we look to Jesus and place our trust and hope in Him, we can find peace and joy. However, we cannot live at peace and be joyful if we look at the world.
Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). I encouraged my friend to surrender everything to Jesus and to have an intimate relationship with Him every day. I reminded her that our lives are in the palm of God’s hand. He is present with us today. He is the only source of each day’s provision. He said, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). At the end of our conversation, she agreed with me that only God can sustain us and give us joy and peace.
You probably heard the phrase: “Be happy, life is too short.” However, Paul says in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” According to Oswald Chambers, the joy of Jesus is not mere happiness. Using the word happiness in connection with Jesus Christ is an insult. Jesus’ joy was the joy of surrendering and sacrificing Himself to His Father. It was the joy of doing exactly what His Father sent Him to do. He said, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38).
Our joy is to surrender to Jesus and to sacrifice ourselves to Him. The joy of our lives lies not in wealth, accomplishments, or successes, but it lies in understanding God, in communion with God, and in oneness with God. Our tendency is to take charge of our lives. However, Jesus taught us to surrender everything to Him. He said, “. . . the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things . . . choke the word” (Mark 4:19). God aims to get us beyond worry to the place where we are His witnesses proclaiming who Jesus is. Everything God has done for us until now should lead to a deeper relationship with Him.
Let's refocus our relationships with God and find joy in Him. Then we will overflow with rivers of living water. Do not focus on being self-conscious or self-righteous. Instead, start living a life that is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). A life rightly related to God can be as natural as breathing. In fact, the most joyful and blessed lives are those surrendered to God, unconscious of the influence on others.
Kim Wong is a daughter, sister, and mother of two daughters. She is a member of a local church in Livermore, California, where she served in children’s ministry. She recently retired as an administrator at the State Bar of California.
