JOY

What does it mean for your cup to runneth over? What does it mean for a Christian to remain joy”full”? Over the last few months I have watched a friend of mine endure some really hard knocks. This friend did not choose the circumstances in her life right now and yet she has met them head on with grace and endurance. If you ask her right now if she is joy”full” she would probably answer with a resounding no. But standing on this side…watching the way she is dealing with her life and how she continues to credit the Lord for her sanity…I think that is what we as Christians miss out on in joy. In Hebrews it says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The coming joy for Jesus disarmed the sting of the present pain. Jesus had the ability to hold fast to joy…in the midst of His suffering. He endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. The joy of sitting at the right hand of God, the joy of forgiving our sins, the joy of eternal fellowship with the saints because of the cross. I want that joy. It doesn’t numb me from my circumstances, it provides me the opportunity to say as Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” My cup runneth over with joy…