0 How to Find Joy and Peace in Life

Most of us are familiar with John 3:16 and God’s promise of everlasting life to those who believe in Jesus.  In John 10:10, Jesus stated that he came to bring us life, and life to the full.  When we think of this life that Jesus came to bring us, many people think it refers to the life God will give us one day after we die and go to heaven.  Yes, this is included in God’s statement, but He meant so much more.

Jesus was clear that once we accept Him as savior, the Kingdom of God, and everything it represents, already resides in us.  Luke 17:21.  And the Bible says that the Kingdom of God “is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 14:17.  God desires that your life be filled with peace and joy.  He has placed these deep within your heart.  Your job is to draw it out and cultivate it with God’s help.  I want to show you today six key ingredients to living the full life that Jesus came to give us.

THE FIRST KEY INGREDIENT IS SPEND TIME WITH GOD.  We spend time with God through reading His word and prayer, that is, simply talking to God and listening for His still small voice deep within.  Spending time with God affects the quality of our lives in many ways.  One such way is found in Philippians 4:5-7:

“5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

How often have we said “Oh well, I’ve done everything else, I guess all I can do now is pray.” Often times we forfeit the peace and joy that God has for us in any given situation because we do not take our issue to God first.  He has the answer.  Trust and rely on Him.

THE SECOND KEY INGREDIENT IS PERSONAL GROWTH.  We all have attitudes, behaviors and habits that are not Godly.  It is a result of being born sinful and living in a fallen world.  We will not live joyous and fulfilling lives and have healthy relationships until we get some of our bad habits and behaviors straightened out.  Romans 12:2 states:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

How do we get straightened out?  By meditating on the Word of God as it will sanctify and cleanse us.  Ephesians 5:26.

THE THIRD KEY INGREDIENT IS TO SET GOALS AND WORK TOWARD SOMETHING NEW.  Note that in Genesis 1, each day God created something, at the end of the day He stood back and looked at it with satisfaction and said it is “good.”  It brought Him satisfaction and joy.

God created us like Himself, to be progressive and creative.  See Genesis 2:15 - “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  Only when we are working toward a goal, will we find true satisfaction in life.  Galatians 6:4 makes this clear:

“But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”

THE FOURTH KEY INGREDIENT IS TO MAINTAIN HEALTHY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.  Proverbs 17:17 states:

“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”

And Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 states:

“9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.  10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.  11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?”

In times of trouble, we often isolate ourselves because we are ashamed that we are struggling.  This is a dangerous place to be.  We need people to whom we can be vulnerable, accountable and go to in time of need.

THE FIFTH KEY INGREDIENT IS SERVICE TO GOD AND OTHERS.  To live a fulfilled life, “it can’t all be about us.”  In fact, the Word of God instructs us to comfort others like we ourselves have been comforted by God.  Second Corinthians 1:3-4 states:

“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ”

God certainly rewards those who serve as He makes clear in Proverbs 11:25 that a generous person will prosper; a person who refreshes others will themself be refreshed.

Lastly, THE SIXTH KEY INGREDIENT IS REST.  Genesis 2:1, 2 states that God rested after creating all that exists.  He didn’t need to rest, because God does not get weary, nor need sleep.  See Psalm 121.  He was setting up a principle for us to follow.  Our natural bodies need rest or we will burnout and life will lose its joy.

I encourage you that if you are feeling tired and weary today take the key ingredients that I have shown you and examine your life and assess where you might be out of balance.  Most importantly, ask the Holy Spirit to show you.  As Him for His help.  He loves you so much.  He is more than ready to help you.  He desires that you be full of His joy and peace.  Remember, Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full.

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0 Strength in Numbers

We all need people to whom we can go to in time of need.  But that is not what most of us do when we need help.  Most of us are embarrassed or too proud to go to someone with our problems.  We believe that people will think less of us.

So what do most of us do in times of trouble?  We often isolate ourselves.  We keep it all on the inside and suffer silently, or make bad decisions because we don’t seek advice from someone with more knowledge or experience.  But this is a dangerous place to be.  It’s a place where your real enemy the devil wants you to be because when you are alone, you are vulnerable to attack.  

God illustrated this point to me using something as simple as farm animals.  I would frequently pass by a farm on my commute into town and I noticed that the animals always remained huddled together in a pack.  No matter what part of the field in which they were feeding, they remained together.  One day as I drove by the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  He asked me, “Do you know why they do this?”  I answered “No.”  He continued, “I gave them this survival instinct to group together because there is strength in numbers.  They are not as vulnerable to attack by predators when they are in tight packs.”

Our “adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour.”  1 Peter 5:8

He then communicated to me that we His children are likewise vulnerable to attack by our enemy when we isolate ourselves.  He brought to my mind a Scripture, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NKJV):

9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.

Through this lesson, God communicated three pieces of advice to me.  One, when we are hurting or in trouble, we should seek out someone we respect for help.  The person from whom you seek help might be able to help you see a way out because when hurting emotions are running high so our ability to think clearly on our own is diminished.  And don’t be embarrassed.  We all make mistakes.  No one except God is perfect.

Second, when we have a big decision to make, seek advice of other people who have knowledge or experience in the area.  Listen to people who know more about a subject than you do.  Be humble.  The Bible has plenty to say on this subject:

Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.

    Proverbs 13:10 - Wisdom is found in those that take advice.

    Proverbs 15:22 - Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

    Proverbs 20:18 - Make plans by seeking advice.

    Proverbs 24:6 - In the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Third, reach out to others who might be alone.  If you see people isolated because of personality or problems, reach out to them.  One word from you could change everything.  The Bible is clear that God comforts us so that we can comfort others.  See Second Corinthians 1:3-4.  And please don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are better than someone else.  What do you have that hasn’t been given to you?  (See First Corinthians 4:7 - "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?").

Some of my best friends are people who I never thought God would put me with.  But God was looking at their heart, not their exterior or what they have or what position they occupy.  Until next time, be blessed our friends.

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0 It’s Never Too Late!

The other day I was reading in the book of Joel.  I came across a verse that most of us are familiar with: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25).  God promises further in this chapter:

I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.  (Joel 2:19).

You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.  (Joel 2:26, 27).

The Holy Spirit had me stop and meditate on the context of these promises.  He revealed something to me that had totally escaped me before.

The first chapter of Joel recounts the lack, misery, and trouble visited upon God’s people as a result of their disobedience to God.  God’s people had gotten into sin, turned away from Him, and tried to live life without acknowledging Him as the source of all the good in their lives.

In the second chapter of Joel, God calls out to His people to return to Him with all their heart.  If they would, He promised to change their situation and bless them as recounted in verses 19, 26, and 27.  Really not so surprising as there are so many promises in the Word of God that if we walk closely with Him, giving Him our whole heart, He will consider it His duty to care for us, financially, physically, mentally, etc...  But then there is verse 25 speaking of repayment.

One would think that if God is repaying someone as stated in verse 25, they must have been owed something.  Surely, the individuals to whom He would repay must have been wrongly deprived of something.  But as stated above, this is not the context of the book of Joel.  God’s people had wronged God.  They deserved to lose everything.  But even despite this, God promised that if they would turn back to Him with their whole heart, He would restore to them what they had lost as a result of their own bad decisions.  He would repay them for what the locusts had eaten.

Return to the LORD your God,
   for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity.  Joel 2:13

I want to encourage you today.  Even if you have disobeyed God or missed his direction in any area of your life, and, as a result, you feel that you have lost out on opportunities, provision, time, relationships, or health, it is not over for you.  God never disqualifies us.  God never writes us off.  Do as God told His people to do.  Return to Him with your whole heart, cry out to Him, and He will restore what you have lost and then some.  Nothing you’ve done is beyond the mercy of God.  It’s never too late.  Your best days are not behind you.  The best is yet to come!

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0 A Friend Who Sticks Closer than a Brother

Recently we were counseling with a young man who had fallen into a deep depression.  He had recently broken up with a girl that he loved very much.  According to him, she was the center of his world.  He told us that he had lost all desire to got to work, eat, and be around people.  He has spent his days in his room, sleeping as much as possible to escape reality.

The mistake this young man made is all too common and so easy for any of us to make.  He made another human being the center of his world.  He placed his hopes, dreams and satisfaction in life upon the shoulders of a girl.  For some of us it is not a human being that is the center of our world, but work.  I have known many people who found their worth and reason to exist in what they do for a living.  In hard financial times such as we live where thousands of people are being laid off from jobs and many more cannot find work, this is dangerous also.  Let me explain why.

Your life is like a wagon wheel.  A wagon wheel has a center hub that supports several spokes that protrude out of it to connect with the outer wheel.  The hub is the center of your world, your main focus.  The spokes represent all other aspects of your existence, such as work, romantic relationships, children, friendships, hobbies, interests, desires, etc.  So what happens when your hub is a person and they leave you?  Or what if work is your hub and you lose your job?  Without a doubt, your world will cave in.

So what or who should be the focus and center of your life to spare you this pain?  Very simply Jesus Christ.  Jesus plainly stated in Hebrews 13:5 that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  In another place, the Bible calls Him “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).  If you make Jesus the center of your life, everything can collapse around you, some spokes can fall out of the wheel, but you will still be standing because He will never leave you nor forsake you.  And even more, He will help you through trouble and put right those other parts of your life that are hurting you. 

Paul recognized this secret to a satisfying and fulfilling life when he wrote Philippians 4:12-14:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I encourage you today to refocus and recommit all you are to God.  You will never regret keeping Him as the center of your life.

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0 Don’t Let Trouble Discourage You

God has put a very important message on my heart today to share with you.  I want to talk to you about troubles, trials, and storms.  Some people have a misconception that once you become a believer in Jesus, life will be roses and you will never again experience such things.  Think again.  The Bible clearly states that all of us will experience these times.  When describing the difference between those who believe in Him and those who don’t, Jesus gave an example in Luke 6:47-49 that clearly shows that we all, believer and non-believer, will experience troubles, trials, and storms:

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.  They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.

Notice that the flood came even to the believer who bases his life on Jesus’ teachings.  But also notice the result for the believer and unbeliever.  When the storm passed, the believer was left standing and unshaken.  The unbeliever, however, was destroyed. 

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”  PSALM 91:14-16

My reason for writing this post is I want to encourage you not to give up in the storm.  Times are tough all around the world.  People are experiencing trouble like never before in their health, home, and finances.  But this storm too will eventually pass.  Don’t fret.  Don’t let it frighten you.  Jesus is with you.  His teachings will protect you.  His hand is upon you. His strength will sustain you.

I remember once when I was working in a large city, and I was sitting in my car on the top level of the parking garage down the street from the office during lunch reading my Bible.  I was experiencing a very stressful day.  My boss, who was a very hard person with whom to work, was being especially difficult, harsh, and unreasonable that day.  I was distraught and sought comfort in God’s Word.  I opened my Bible to the place where I had stopped reading the previous day, Psalm 86.  I read verses 1-4:

Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

Wow, how appropriate for the situation!  Tears started to well up in my eyes.  Someone had felt what I was feeling.  But the story does not end there.  I had the windows of my car down.  The wind was blowing in the left-hand window the entire time I had been sitting in the car.  Suddenly, as I finished reading the first four verses of Psalm 86, the wind changed direction and came in through my right-hand window.  It flipped the page on my Bible one page over and my eyes fell on a passage that I had highlighted more than a year before. It was verses 20-24 of Psalm 89.  It says:

My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.
The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him.
I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted.

Think what you will.  Call it a coincidence.  But I know God was speaking to me.  God was reminding me that even in the storm, He is there.  He had not forgotten about me.  He had not left to me to endure it on my own.  As He promised in Luke 6:47-49 for anyone who believes in Him, He would protect me as the storm raged, and when it passed, I would still be standing.  But not just "standing" according to Psalm 89, but my horn would be exalted.  The "horn" in Bible days represented strength.  God was saying that when I came out of this situation, I would be the victor and everyone would see His faithfulness.  Those of you who have heard my testimony, know that this is indeed what happened.  The boss who oppressed me was fired and I was exalted to a high position in the firm and blessed beyond my imaginations.  It is no different for you today, if you will keep standing, trusting and leaning upon God, who is your strength.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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