Devotion 9 - Restoring & Keeping the Joy
"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
John Piper, a Reformed Baptist pastor, coined this term in his 1986 book, “Desiring God” as he summarizes the philosophy of the Christian life.
Thus, if we sincerely desire to glorify His Name in our lives, we must first learn how to be satisfied in Him, and how to have the fullness of His joy in us! His glory and our joy are not incompatible, or mutually exclusive as many had thought, but congruent.
Jn 15:11 - “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
It is important to note that in this passage, Jesus was speaking to His disciples, to Christians. Hence, He was basically saying that even though they had been with Him for almost three years, there was a possibility that they would not have continual joy in their lives. So how do we get such full joy?
In His presence is Fullness of joy
Psa 6:11 – “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
There seems to be a proposition in this verse - The path of life leads us into the presence of God which fills us with fullness of joy. Hence, if we are not enjoying the fullness of joy or worse, if we had lost our joy, then, maybe we are on the wrong path of life. And from this verse, we also learn that there are degrees of joy, with the fullness of joy found in the presence of God.
If we want to enjoy the fullness of joy in God, we need to examine our lives, and path we are on. We need to repent of all the "wrong turns" and return to God's path of life. The way to secure our joy - to keep it for all eternity - is to spend time in the presence of the Lord. How do we come into the presence of the Lord?
Thanksgiving – The Gateway into His Presence
Psa 100:4 – “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him and bless His name.”
The “courts” and ‘gates” in this text refer to the temple, the Old Testament place of worship where God would meet His people. Therefore, thanksgiving is the first door into the presence of God, the path of life to God’s mercy, grace and favour.
There is a great connection between thankfulness and joy. Thankfulness is based upon awareness. It is not blind thankfulness or forced thankfulness. Rather it is keeping our eyes opened to see what God has done and is doing, and responding with declared gratitude. Hence, “thinking” and “thanking” are related. Before a person can thank properly, he or she needs to think properly. Those who think and count their blessings will be moved to thank Him who graciously gives all.
Our God is the living source from whom all blessings flow. We are completely dependent upon God for life. Everything that we are and have is a gift of God’s goodness and grace. “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). To get more specific, in our day-to-day lives, it is through Him that we continue to enjoy our food, health, family, career, country, etc.
Thanksgiving is not denial of the real problems we face, or to be hyped up in hypocrisy. Rather, it is the result of right thinking, i.e. recognizing that we serve a God who is above all circumstances and believing that He can work together all things for our good!
1 Thess. 5:18 – “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Finally, Paul exhorted us to give thanks in every life circumstance because it is the will of God for us. No exceptions, no excuses, nothing is outside those parameters, but in everything give thanks. We are to be thankful because a heart of gratitude is not derived from life circumstances but rather from the source of life itself. We give thanks because God is sovereign, God is love, God is faithful, God is good, etc. In other words, we give thanks because we believe in the nature and character of God. Thanksgiving is basic Christian living and attitude.
The overarching principle that sets this all in place is Rom 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Even if the issue is not good, God will take what is bad and turn it to a good purpose for our good and our eternal glory. If we truly believe that God is at work, sovereignly controlling all of the contingencies of life, blending them all together, each component to lead to a sovereignly designed goal for our good and glory, then we can be thankful because we know whatever befall us fit into His ultimate plan!