unlike the which I've not seen in a while. Our Associate Pastor Chad preached a sermon about joy, and how we as Christians should be the most joyful people on the planet, yet most days if there is any joy in our hearts, we have forgotten to notify our faces.
Joy is not an emotion, it is a fruit of
the Spirit. And as Chad said last night, an orange tree doesn't have to work to produce oranges, they just form naturally. Now there are things that you can do with the orange tree to make it's fruit become larger and more succulent, you can add fertilizer and prune the tree.
And just as it is possible to do that with a natural orange tree, we can also do that to ourselves spiritually. We can add fertilizer to our hearts, through reading God's Word and prayer. We can also do that by helping others when they are in need. As Christians, we are suppose to be faith people, and in last night's service I was made aware of how far from faith I have been lately. There have been things in my life that have brought stress, confusion and strife, and instead of doing what I've learned and been taught all of my Christian life, I just laid down and let the enemy run rough shod over me. Well, no more.
Life is hard, that is a fact. Life is good, and that also is a fact. These two things at times seem to be at odds with each other whenever we try and reconcile the two into our daily lives. See, being a Christian doesn't mean that we float around on flowery beds of ease, not at all. The early day saints had it rough, Roman occupation, being chased out of cities for spreading the truth of Jesus and what He had done. That was definitely not an easy life.
We are instructed in Scripture that it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) And Jesus told us that in Him, we might have peace or joy. (John 16:33) So joy should be a mainstay staple in the Christian life. I wonder then why it isn't always? It is a choice that we have to make to overlook the things in our lives that cause us to not be joyful, and decide to be joyful in spite of what the circumstances tell us.
This is not always easy, and it appears that this is the thing that the Lord is instructing me in at this point in my life. Now I'm not complaining because I know in the end it will be for the benefit of me and my family. So now I will pick up the joy that is in my heart, which is my strength and I will put it on my face so that those around me can see the fruit of joy begin to blossom in my life.
Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!
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