J - O - Why?

                                                                  I'VE GOT THE

JOY, JOY, JOY,

down in my heart.

WHERE?

 

How many of you remember this fun little children's song?

I, for one.

How many of you can sing this song now with as much enthusiasm as a roomful of squeaky clean, squirmy and ambitious, Vacation Bible School children?

I can't say that I ever will again.

 It will never be the same.

I have the Source of Joy. 

But it does not come naturally anymore.

WHY?

Sometimes, I am at the point now, when I should reply - 

"If you have to ask the question, then it's not worth my stress level to explain."

I have the Peace of God, which brings me inner joy.

Yet, it seems buried six feet underground.

"Pray" - you may say - "God is a healer of all wounds."

Yes, I do.

"Pray more" - some may say - "it works for me!"

Yes, perhaps it does.

But my God is not, never has been and never claims to be A Vending Machine.

Jesus didn't die on the cross to become the world's largest Pez Dispenser.

In fact, Jesus instructs us to take up OUR CROSS and follow Him.

What?

cue the sound of crickets...

WHAT?

I thought becoming like Christ would erase all my troubles? 

I'm not even sure how that gets stuck in everyone's head.

If we read the words of Jesus, He is quite often telling His followers 

to be ready for trouble to come our way.

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  - John 16:33

 

Twice in Matthew (Matt.10:38, 16:24) and Luke (Luke 9:23, 14:27) and again in Mark 8:34, the disciples wrote Jesus' words for us to read and remember the story for generations - we must become like Christ by looking ahead of us to the final goal.

 

WHAT does that mean?

When a marathon runner or an Olympic swimmer prepare for the final race they must look ahead to keep training harder.

They must continue daily fighting to become better, stronger, faster than the day before.

 If I needed to lose weight for my health, 

I must train my body to become something better than it is now.

 I can not continue to eat anything I please and never leave the couch.

It doesn't work like that.

Even your doctor will tell you to eat the proper foods and get plenty of water and exercise along with taking your daily medications.

As a chronically ill middle-aged female with multiple health issues and rheumatoid arthritis slowly deteriorating my body, however, I can not exercise regularly enough to build up my strength like most people could.

It's more of a one step forward, two steps back (or in my case, stumbled, fallen or dropped).

I could easily get discouraged if I only concentrated on how much I just can not do any more.

Will it matter 20, 30, 50 or 100 years from now whether I had the abs of an athlete?

Will that make me a better person, more like Christ?

No, of course not.

Does it matter if someone else wants that to be their goal? 

That's all well and good - go for it.

But in the end, 100 years from now. In eternity. 

What if all you accomplished in your life was a well-trimmed physique? 

Exercise has it's value. I just don't need to focus on that as my end goal.

Because if I am always looking down, I can not be looking forward to the final goal.

But How. Am. I. Supposed. To. Keep. My. Eyes. On. The Goal ...

if our lives are filled with so many troubles, trauma, setbacks, sorrows and loss?

It's all so un-joy-ful.

We have a Champion on our side to show us the way.

And knowing there are many who have gone before us, cheering us on, 

can make the journey more important than ever before.

I used to have a pastor who explained the Bible in such a way 

that it was very easy to understand things we may have never seen on our own.

He said - "whenever you see the word 'Therefore' beginning a verse, 

you need to go back and read the verses before and after carefully, to understand what it is there for!"

In Hebrews 12:1-2 we read the WHYS and the wherefores, and the HOW-   

1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, 
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. 
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  
2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
a Because of the joyb awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. 
Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 

Jesus is sitting down now, his work is done.

Our loved ones are in the presence of Jesus, with not one single weight dragging them down.
They are blissfully free of any cares, pain or sorrows which they knew here below.



Now I don't know for sure (this is my speculation); no one on this side of the veil can prove otherwise, but I think that our loved ones can, at times, be allowed to peek into our world and cheer us on when we are needing it the most.
(not that they have powers, but that God can open the veil if He chooses)
If I were to write a speculative fiction book on this,
I imagine the power of God
could send an angel to take our loved ones by the hand and say -
"This is who Jesus died for, just like you.
Now you are in the stands watching and waiting for everyone to come home.
Let's give them a little taste of heaven today.
Are you ready?
On the count of three - let's send a cheer their way!
One. Two. Three...
...there now, little Butterfly (or frog, feather, or whatever speaks your language)
Go on, say hello to our friend down there!
...Ah,yes! See that smile sneak out the side of her lips and wipe away the tear? She understands!!"

Of course to continue that speculation, I would say the comprehension of a tear would be lost on them, they have no memory of such. 

But the smile, oh they feel the joy there!!

This much I know to be true.

The JOY set before them, in the presence of the King of all Kings.

The JOY set before Jesus, because He knew how the story would end.

That is the joy I am looking forward to when it's my turn to go beyond the veil of time and space. 

Until then, I will continue to look for whispers of joy all around me, the daily little miracles that God provides to cheer us on.

To look to Jesus and His strength when mine grows faint,

that is where I find my joy.

When I can't seem to muster one more step forward,

all I need to remember is to just keep going, 

I will get there eventually.

Looking for joy in the little things at Brick by Brick

Written by: Sue Leerhoff