Encouragement

Keep your joy

by david Oram
08/21/07
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James 1:2-4 says: "...whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything" I bought myself a new Bible the other day, and while flicking through it, came across these verses. They are so uplifting. "Whenever" implies that trouble - in one form or another - will come our way in life. It could be in the form of a financial problem, struggles in a relationship or challenging situation at the workplace to name just a few. Our difficulties at times can be totally unexpected or may have been building up over a sustained period. They can be long term or short term. There are so many variations. However no matter how or when trouble comes, it is ultimately up to us, and the way we react, that determines whether we overcome or not. In the passage above James says "let it be an opportunity for joy". The word "let" is a small word, but yet so significant. It tells us that we can decide to seize the opportunity for joy or not. It's up to us. We can decide to have joy in our times of loneliness, sorry and pain. This is what God desires for us. Life at times has a way of trying to suppress us, keep us down. At times we are prone to feel discouraged and lose hope. As these feelings become stronger within us, our joy can seep away and we become spiritually weaker. However the Lord encourages us in the book of Nehemiah (9:10) that "the joy of the Lord is our strength". It is vital that in the toughest times we cease the opportunity of maintaining our joy. This is what David did in 1 Samuel 30. While he and his army were out in battle, some of his enemies - the Amalekites - invaded his home town, burnt it down and took all the women and children captive. In their distress, his own troop turned against him and wanted to stone him to death. However verse 6 says "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God". From that point onward, David rose up and went on to recover all. We must learn to do the same thing as David - encourage ourselves in the Lord. This means we must remind ourselves of who God is, and His promises to us. For example, in a financial struggle, remind yourself "Lord, you are my faithful Provider. You promised to provide for all my needs" (Philippians 4). If you are lonely - "Lord, you said that you would never leave me nor forsake me" (Hebrews 13). If you feel weak - "Lord, you are the strength of my life" (Psalms 37). If you need guidance - "Father, you promised that if I trust in you, you would direct my path" (Proverbs 3). It is vital that we learn to encourage ourselves, as we will not always have someone there to speak positively over our lives all the time. As we encourage ourselves in this manner, our enemy satan is confused because you are not crumbling under the pressure as he expected. He knows that even things meant for our detriment cannot hurt us if we put our confidence in the Lord. As we seize the opportunity for joy, we are actually passing the test - yes the test of our faith. You see, nothing surprises God. Before your difficulty came, He knew. He had it in mind to use the problem to strengthen your endurance and shape your character to be more like His. What a great God He is! While we allow Him to pour His joy into us, in our tough times, He is doing a great work in us. Slowly but surely He is moulding us to be more like His Son Jesus Christ. This is His ultimate desire. As the Lord does His work in us, we find that over time we learn how to trust Him and remain positive when problems come. Eventually, we find ourselves recognising that "Hey, I can still smile through all this, it must be God". This is a signal that you are stronger than before. Things that used to weigh you down, now don't even bother you! At one time you would say "Lord, Lord, what am I going to do? I can't cope!" Now you are saying "Lord, I don't fully understand it, but I believe you can make a way!" This is why James says "ready for anything". Are there problems with family - joy. Finances taking a hit - joy. Opposition at work - joy. Can't understand what you are going through - joy. Whatever it may be - keep your joy!

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