Rising Above Our Circumstances

Just to summarize the key points of the first two blogs, in case you may have forgotten… (or didn’t read them):

·         God (the LORD – Yahweh) is the source and focus of our joy

·         Joy is NOT based in circumstances

·         Joy is NOT a synonym for happiness – although - neither does it preclude happiness

·         We are commanded to be joyful – in all circumstances

Jesus spoke a fair amount about joy…  in fact, at the last supper, He gave the eleven disciples some pertinent information as to how to have “full joy”.  In John 15:1-12, Jesus points out three evidences of believers, which are linked to this joy:

1.       They will bear fruit – and they will be pruned.  Pruning is an interesting thing – because it is NOT just clipping away dead parts.  In fact, it occurs in spring when vines are flowering.  Fast-growing shoots are clipped, so they won’t grow too quickly, long shoots are clipped so they don’t break in the wind; some flowers or fruit are removed so that the remaining fruit will be of better quality, and “suckers” are removed so that the strength of the vine is not weakened.  As believers, the fruit that we will bear is described by Paul in Galatians 5:22: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  It is important to note that this fruit glorifies God – NOT worldly success.

2.       The second identifier of a believer is that they will ABIDE in Christ.   You cannot bear this fruit on your own or in your own strength.  Christ says this in vs. 4-5.  The ONLY way to bear this fruit is to abide in Him.  Abide means to remain or continue in Him.  So, if you are trusting in a prayer you prayed at some point in your life… you might want to reconsider…  we must ABIDE in Him.  Some ideas on how that “looks”: prayer, Bible study, fellowship with believers.

3.       The third identifying trait of a believer is that they obey God’s commands. Again, Jesus gives direction on this in vs. 9-10 when He tells us that He loves His bride and that we are to abide in His love by keeping His commandments.  Then, in vs. 12 He gives us one of the two commands: Love one another.  (The other is to love God.)  As I pondered this – I thought – “wow… what if Jesus were to return today and the litmus test of belief was the way believers loved one another?”  Our churches are in a sad state of affairs – because it seems like we “love” more like the world than the love Paul describes in 1 Cor. 13.  I am challenged to love more self-sacrificially by these words. 

Jesus didn’t just come up with this list to burden us with more to do or to create a works-based salvation.  Salvation is a work of grace – a free gift.  These things can ONLY be done by one who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who has come to help us.  But – these are a good test for us to see where we are abiding…  and for those who are abiding – we rest in the knowledge that we have an eternal inheritance – and that knowledge causes our joy to be full!  (v. 11)  In John 16:11, Jesus says, “I have said these things to keep you from falling away”.  In other words – they are boundary markers – if you go outside this – it gives cause to question your allegiances.

Jesus knew this wouldn’t be easy – and if you are like me, you are thinking – “Well, this is all great, but HOW do I do this?”  We learn a lot – get “head knowledge” – but how do we move it to our heart, so that the next time our circumstances are overwhelming us, we can remember to “consider it all joy”?

Here are some practical ways to do this:

·         Express spiritual affections based on TRUTHS of God

o   About His character

o   About His Word

o   About His doings

·         By being content

·         By words – prayer, praise, psalms

·         By attitude & countenance (smile once in a while)

·         By tears of joy – (ie) crying when someone professes faith

·         By silent thought – rejoicing in our heart

·         By remembering the things God has done in our lives

·         By laughter of joy –see 2 Sam. 6:14-16 – where the ark is returned and David and the people are dancing, shouting and singing!

·         Cultivate a heart of joy

o   Digging for “gold” – looking for the good in hard circumstances

o   5 Things I’m Thankful for…

·         Train yourself to be alert to the many reasons FOR rejoicing.  We can get so bogged down with the details of life that we MISS opportunity to rejoice.  Be looking and listening to what people are telling you about what God is doing in their lives.  Watch carefully for answers to your prayers…

A recent example of the last bullet point…  last week, our internet suddenly and inexplicably quit working.  It was a day when I had a fairly tight schedule, and none of the normal trouble-shooting techniques were working.  So, I called the internet provider… which turned out to be unhelpful.  In frustration, I unplugged everything and dashed off to our Ladies Bible study at church, trying to refocus my mind on my role in that.  On the way home, I thought, “I haven’t even prayed about this!”  And so, I asked the Lord to forgive me for not turning to Him immediately – for being independent and trying to always be self-sufficient… and then I asked Him to help me with this situation.  (I depend on the internet heavily – as I telecommute). 

When I walked in the door, wondering what the next step was and how much of the next day might be consumed with trouble-shooting, my sister said, “I just plugged everything back in about 5 minutes ago [the SAME time I was praying], and the internet came up!”  A worldly response to that would be to list out some technical reason…  “Oh, it just needed unplugged for a while to reset”…  But a God-honoring response was to say, “That was exactly when I asked the Lord to intervene – ISN’T HE GOOD???”  He was answering my prayer, even as I prayed it…  and it is my hope that I will remember that lesson, and RUN to Him with ALL the details of my life… because He is BIG enough, powerful enough, WHATEVER enough to handle them!  To HIM be the honor and glory and praise – FOREVER!  He is worthy!  And in HIM is our joy complete!