Have you ever wished you could bottle the joy of the Lord so you could just hand it out to those in need?
To the lost,
to the hurting,
to the broken.
Because we are all broken. Some of us worse than others, some of us more aware of it than others, but sin has broken all of us. We are hurting, and we need joy.
There is only one remedy for our broken, wounded, bleeding spirits: the Cross of Christ and His precious blood poured out for us.
One would think, after all God has done for me, after the way He has loved me and drawn me and cared for me and redeemed me, that I would stand boldly in His love and walk in faith. That I would claim His salvation and rise up, unbroken, ready to tackle anything life throws at me.
Nope.
I'm still broken. I stumble blindly along the path He has clearly revealed. I weep with gratitude over His miraculous provision in the past, yet tremble in fear and unbelief over the things I face today. I proclaim the beauty of His plan and His ways, and even His laws which He gave me for my good, while desperately seeking a way to break His laws, because my case is "special".
I find a true brother in Paul when he mourned,
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Romans 7:18-19
My heart cries with him as he exclaims:
Wretched man that I am! Who shall save me from this body of death?!!!! (vs. 24)
Yep. Broken. And yet...Paul also gives us a glimmer of hope.
There is therefore now NO condemnation... For God has done what the law,weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,he condemned sin in the flesh... Romans 8:1-3
And John chimes in with,
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:10
Propitiation: the act of appeasing wrath. Webster's dictionary.
In our failures, our weakness, our brokenness, our flat-out sinfulness, Jesus Christ chose to die.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Wow! That right there should be enough to fill our hearts with joy. But God did not stop there. When we believe on Him, He gives us a gift:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? I Corinthians 6:19
Yes, I am broken. I am very broken.
BUT THERE IS SOMEONE INSIDE OF ME WHO IS NOT!!!
Want to know what else? Sometimes, just sometimes, I can tap into the power that lives within me. I can walk in the joy and strength of my Lord. I can stand strong and boldly proclaim the faithfulness of my God while my world crumbles around me. In those moments, the joy of the Lord becomes my strength. His peace passes all earthly understanding of my circumstances. In those moments, those precious, fleeting moments, my flesh has no power over me, and I get it. I get what Paul meant when he said,
...Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (KJV)
Then the moment is gone. But the memory lingers.
If only I could walk in the Spirit all the time! My heart cries. But I know why I can't. Walking in the Spirit is a powerful place. If the mundane didn't crash in on me, if I didn't sleep it off, if I didn't get distracted by the constant demands for my attention, then my pride would get in the way, I'd forget it was the Spirit's power, not my own, and I'd crash right back to earth.
So He gives us moments--glimpses of what it will be like when we walk with Him free from this sinful, broken, constantly failing flesh. He gives us the ability to walk partially in the Spirit when we cannot do it perfectly. Best of all, He gives us joy down in the deepest part of our being. Joy that bubbles and dances and seems completely immune to the chaos around us.
I cannot walk in the Spirit perfectly at all times. But, to the extant that I remember who Jesus is and the miracle of what He has done for me, I can walk in joy.
His joy takes the edge off my frustrations, making it a tiny bit easier to be patient. His joy bubbles up to comfort me in my grief, my tears wiped away by His incredible love. His joy reminds me that I am forgiven, and so need to forgive others. What is a thoughtless, if hurtful word spoken to me in the light of the deep offenses I've committed--offenses that cost Jesus His life?
He paid a debt He did not owe, to buy a sinner who could not pay Him back. In the light of that one truth, everything else fades.
Have you met my Jesus? Oh, my friend, kneel at the cross and tap into His endless joy. Quit striving, and let His Spirit transform your life. Let His light shine through your cracks.
Blessings,
Jules
