My wife always has ways of encouraging me. Today she emailed me at work a section from a book she is reading from Warren Wiersbe regarding what a 'good day' consists of:
What God means by "Good Days": They are not necessarily days free from problems. For the Psalmist in Psalm 34 wrote about fears, troubles, afflictions, and even a broken heart. A "Good Day" for the believer who "loves life" is not one in which he is pampered and sheltered, but one in which he experiences God's help and blessing because of life's problems and trials. It is a day when he magnifies the Lord, experiences answers to prayer, tastes the goodness of God and senses the nearness of God.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Pain and Pleasure
Joy is often elusive to the Christian. We wish it were within our grasp, but sometimes it just isn't there. We find ourselves desperately looking for it only to come away disappointed by another exercise in futility.
It is closer than we think. It involves a spiritual culture shift in what we think joy is rooted in. Am I wrong in saying that if everything is fine and everything is going our way... then we have joy... and lots of it? That may be true to some extent. But the Bible tells us another source of joy. Of course, God is the ultimate source of joy, as He is all other good gifts. But consider these passages:
Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us. Psalm 90:15
Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. Psalm 119:67
It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71
The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:19
These passages indicate that gladness (joy) is sometimes related to affliction. BEFORE affliction, the Psalmist went astray. It appears that the affliction was instrumental in helping him keep God's word. It is GOOD that the Psalmist was afflicted... why? So he could learn God's law. This causes stability in one's life, and stability plays a vital part in whether or not someone is joyful.
But the ultimate affliction was what you and I caused to the one and only Son of God because of our rebellion:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. Isaiah 53:7
Because of the pain that Christ endured on the cross, the one who follows Him in obedience of faith will enjoy the pleasures of heaven forever. That should not only bring a smile to the saddest face, but that should bring everlasting joy that nothing or no one can take away.
It is closer than we think. It involves a spiritual culture shift in what we think joy is rooted in. Am I wrong in saying that if everything is fine and everything is going our way... then we have joy... and lots of it? That may be true to some extent. But the Bible tells us another source of joy. Of course, God is the ultimate source of joy, as He is all other good gifts. But consider these passages:
Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us. Psalm 90:15
Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. Psalm 119:67
It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71
The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:19
These passages indicate that gladness (joy) is sometimes related to affliction. BEFORE affliction, the Psalmist went astray. It appears that the affliction was instrumental in helping him keep God's word. It is GOOD that the Psalmist was afflicted... why? So he could learn God's law. This causes stability in one's life, and stability plays a vital part in whether or not someone is joyful.
But the ultimate affliction was what you and I caused to the one and only Son of God because of our rebellion:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. Isaiah 53:7
Because of the pain that Christ endured on the cross, the one who follows Him in obedience of faith will enjoy the pleasures of heaven forever. That should not only bring a smile to the saddest face, but that should bring everlasting joy that nothing or no one can take away.
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