Is your joy circumstantial?
"Oh no, not me," I was thinking, and smiling to myself. "I've overcome that." I wasn't paying attention to my family members who were being convicted and saying "ouch" all around me, until one of them hinted that MY joy was circumstantial as well.
"WHAT???!!!" I felt like yelling at him (but didn't. :D ) "Do you really mean it?" I asked. "Wait, you're joking, right?" He shook his head. "You're not serious!!" He nodded.
ME? I mean, ME! This is the queen of perfection we're talking about, not some dolt!! I admit, those were really the thoughts that were going through my head, though definitely exaggerated.
We were having family devotions, and daddy pulled out a commentary on the book of Philippians. Is your joy circumstantial? are the first 4 words he read. Well, after my brother told me that my joy is circumstantial, I had no choice but to listen to what daddy was reading - intently. And one thing stuck out at me. The author, Dennis E. Johnson, asked if his readers were afraid to let go of their way of living because Christ might ask them to hurt for the sake of His kingdom. He said that Jesus very well might, but when He does, He will affix your joy to His constant faithfulness, rather than the oscillating circumstances of the world.
Hmm. I'm still not sure what my brother means by saying that my joy is circumstantial. I think he means that I'm more emotional than I should be, in excitement and disappointment, which I am working on. Whatever he means, I want to learn. And I believe it starts with asking myself this question:
Is your joy attached to God's faithfulness or your/other peoples' accomplishments?
I made a lovely little GIF for this, but unfortunately I can't find it. So I'll describe it to you. It was an arrow going in several different directions - one right after the other. First up, then to the right, then back up and slightly left, then down extremely, and on and on. That is what joy attached to worldly circumstances is, because that's exactly the way circumstances work! No matter how big or small the circumstance, it seems us humans are constantly being jostled on a roller coaster ride of wonderful, terrible, horrible, amazing, good, dreadful, marvelous, okay, eh, awful, sweet, nice, distressing, superb, tough, fair, tight, exacting, pleasing, puzzling, and priceless circumstances (hopefully you get the point. :D) If we're happy when things are wonderful, amazing, good, marvelous, okay, sweet, nice, superb, fair, pleasing and priceless, we'll only be happy for part of the time. Somehow we've got to learn to be full of joy even when things are terrible, horrible, dreadful, awful, distressing, tough, tight, exacting, and puzzling.
I don't accept 'happy' as good enough for myself (it can't possibly last) when I can be full of joy - joy that comes from the excellence of knowing Christ. Christ is sufficient!
What peace and joy will result from consciously remembering the gospel every day and asking for God's grace every morning! I have a vitamin that I'm taking every day, and will be for a couple of months. If I don't take it, after a day or two, I can tell that I didn't! Thankfully, I can also tell when I do take it. Quiet times with God are a lot like taking vitamins. In the morning especially, before any chaos starts, I can be tempted to think, (subconsciously, of course, I would never say this) "oh, it won't be that bad. I can probably make it through the day and be a righteous child of God without asking for God's help." How wrong that is! How prideful as well!
There is hope for those of us who experience frequent mood changes as a result of our 'oscillating circumstances.' It starts with a wonderful truth.
God. Is. Faithful.
Yesterday one of my little brothers was whining because the sibling on the play horse was taking forever to get off. I called him over, and as I hugged him, I asked him "Do you know what we really deserve buddy? Because God is holy and cannot allow disobedience, and because we are disobedient to Him, we deserve to go to hell. Right now, we deserve to be burning in a fire that will never stop. But because Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross, God gives the gift of heaven to those who believe in Him. Instead of burning in a fire, we're here on earth and we've been given so many gifts! So why don't we thank Jesus, buddy, instead of whining and complaining that we aren't getting our turn on the horsey just yet?" He said "okay!" and then ran off with a changed attitude.
This is the type of conversation I think we need to have with ourselves when things don't go our way. We can stop, pray, and remember His faithfulness.
Therefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house... but Christ as a son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end...
~ Hebrews 3:1, 2, + 6,
This is an amazing passage. (You can read the whole chapter here.) God is faithful. He was faithful. He will be faithful.
Does your joy depend on God's faithfulness?
according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
~ Ephesians 3:11-12
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
~ Ephesians 4:30
If HIS faithfulness is what your joy always depends on, you'll always be joyful, because He always is faithful.
Are you rejoicing in the hope of salvation? {Note: Biblical hope means a SURE hope, while the word hope we often use today means "desire" "expectation" or "wish." Praise the Lord that we aren't just 'wishing' or 'desiring' that we'll be saved! We know that we will, because God is faithful!}
Ah. How beautiful! We KNOW that, if we are in Christ, our redemption is sure, guaranteed, inevitable, irrevocable, definite, and real.
Choose ye this day what ye will tie thine emotions unto. Oughtn't all our worship perpetually rise unto our Savior?
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness (!!!) and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (!!!) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (!!!!!!)
~ Colossians 1:9-14 ~
~ To The Utmost Glory Of God ~
