God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Today I’d like to talk to you about Joy.

Joy in God’s eyes is a relationship with Him. It is not based on circumstances- meaning, joy doesn’t come into our life after our life is calm and running smoothly. We can possess inner joy even if we have several long term problems that we are currently negotiating. Impossible? Nope- nothing is impossible with God.

Joy develops within us when we have a sustained relationship with God. A relationship with the Lord requires us to take in His Words daily as we take in food and drink. Then we will start to have faith that what we are reading is true. Once this biblical wisdom goes from our head into our heart and we believe it to be true, we will feel confident to follow God’s leading. When we obey and follow, then we are privy to all of the promises in the Bible- blessings of peace, vindication, provision, protection, joy and health. Wow!

“If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.(John 15:1-11)

God is telling us in this bible promise that by keeping to His teachings we are loving God and the end result is joy within our hearts. As we search the Bible for help, we will find many bible promises that pertain to our life. The next step is to do our part as the verse instructs. If we take action, then we will receive the promise fulfilled- in God’s timing.

Here is an example of a conditional Bible promise- the condition we must meet is in bold type:

He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.(Isaiah 40:29-31)

Below is another bible promise with the condition written in bold:

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.”(Prov 3:5-6)

and another:

“You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless your food and water, and I will protect you from illness.”(Ex 23:25)

So our job is to put into practice His instructions even if they seem scary and counterintuitive. In fact one female medical doctor I read about, who was the sole bread winner in her home, was lead by God to quit her job. She did as the Lord lead. Soon thereafter her husband, who had been looking for a job for over a year, landed a great job. Eventually the female doctor found a part time job in a less busy clinic that had family friendly hours and less stress than her previous job. This afforded her time with her family and energy to enjoy them!

God asks us to do things that seem odd!  But trust and obedience is how we display our love to our Father in heaven. God makes the ultimate decision as to when the Bible promise is delivered to us, but it will happen because God cannot lie.

“Is God human that He should lie? Is He a human being that He should change His mind? Does He speak then not act? Does He promise than not fulfill?(Num 23:19)

So to recap, our joy is a product solely from our relationship with the Lord. Happiness on the other hand is fleeting. We may have much happiness from the things we do in this world- for instance- going out to dinner, a concert or on a vacation with friends or family, but when we return we will feel empty again and this emptiness will need to be filled with another activity. We simply cannot conjure up enough “fun” to make ourselves content at all times. But a relationship with the Lord will give us contentment at all times and joy not based on things or circumstances. Now that is Good News!

Food For Thought,

Lisa