Joy

–via the GirlTalk blog

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3

To “count it all joy” doesn’t mean we will always feel happy in the midst of trials; but regardless of how we feel, it is a command we can and should obey. Martyn Lloyd Jones explains:

“There is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and feeling happy. The Scripture tells us that we should always rejoice [Phil. 4:4]….To rejoice is a command, yes, but there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and being happy. You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will always rejoice in the Lord. Happiness is something within ourselves, rejoicing is ‘in the Lord.’ Take the fourth chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. There you will find that the great Apostle puts it all very plainly and clearly in that series of extraordinary contrasts which he makes: ‘We are troubled on every side (I don’t think he felt very happy at the moment) yet not distressed’, ‘we are perplexed (he wasn’t feeling happy at all at that point) but not in despair’, ‘persecuted but not forsaken’, ‘cast down, but not destroyed’–and so on. In other words the Apostle does not suggest a kind of happy person in a carnal sense, but he was still rejoicing.”

Against Fear

Read this wonderful post at A Holy Experience about fighting fear and living in God’s presence each moment

Devotional: Antidote to Fear

From Upper Room Devotionals–

The Lord replied [to Moses], “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:14 (NIV)

ONE day I experienced excruciating pain in my back. I tried applying rubbing alcohol to the area and took some anti-inflammatory medication, to no avail. The following morning when I awoke, my left foot was partially paralyzed. A week later I dragged myself off to a specialist. His diagnosis was scary: “You have a ‘drop-foot.’ A nerve has been pinched, cutting off its connection to the foot. I will have to operate first thing tomorrow morning, but it may already be too late. Your foot could be semi-paralyzed for life.”

As a hiker and outdoors enthusiast, I was devastated. That night as I prepared to go to the hospital, I remembered God’s promise: “My presence will go with you.” I went with peace and experienced the joy of the Lord’s presence throughout the procedure. Today I can still climb mountains.

Fear is a great illness for many of us. And the most powerful antidote to fear is the promise of God’s presence. The Bible is filled with testimonies of God’s servants who were gripped by fear when they faced adversity, but they were strengthened to endure by God’s promise, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Gen. 26:24). The promise of God’s presence can carry us through life’s greatest challenges.

-by Gerald McCann

Quotidian

“Contentment…does not spring from ignorance but from a sanctified judgment”

-Jeremiah Burroughs in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Quotidian (Trust)

“Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto, – do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms…The same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.”

-Francis de Sales, quoted in Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Rest

” I want to live in that place of constantly yielding inwardly to find the presence of God – the place that, even in the eye of the storm, is one of tranquillity, peace and of rest.  In such a place “rest” becomes a weapon against the enemy.  You can exasperate the devil, because when he comes against you, you don’t fight against him, but submit to God (James 4:7).

In fact, it is not our job to fight the devil.  Our job is to “step back” into God and experience His majesty and power.  Christ has overcome the devil, so we need to focus on being “in Christ.”  You never have to go looking for the devil.  If you live “in Christ,” he’ll come and find you.  Jesus never went looking for the devil.  Everywhere He went the devil appeared and tried to oppose Him.  Our spiritual warfare therefore, should not be about becoming occupied with the devil, but about becoming occupied with God.  Real warfare is about discovering the majesty, the supremacy and the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Warfare is about seeking the face of God and enjoying Him as your fortress and your refuge.”

-Rest is a Weapon by Graham Cooke

Contentment

Marianne Moore once said, “satisfaction is a lowly thing, how pure a thing is joy.”

I wish we were more content in God. To be a Christian is not to be in a state of constant self-examination and recrimination and emotional turmoil. To be a Christian, at its best, it to live clearly and simply – and calmly – in the light of God’s love. There are endless complexities to living life as a Christian. But the love of God – like all loves, while containing all complexities within it, is at heart as simple as a child. Love is one of the simplest emotions. It simply is. We know and see it and rely on it without having to test and try it for what it is. It’s the depth of it we often don’t understand. But if we did – if we understood that, and understood the forgiveness of God, how much better and more joyful our lives as Christians would be!

-yours truly

Peace/Trust

Books:
devotional – Contentment: A Godly Woman’s Adornment, Lydia Brownback

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs – this is pretty theological, but also very simply and clearly written. Deeper reading.

Sermons:

A True Woman Learns to Trust, Karen Loritts (True Woman Conference, scroll down)

Trusting, Planning, and Deciding, Amos Yang (GOC, right-click)

Sustained by Sovereign Grace-Forever, John Piper

Articles:

Give Away Peace-Upper Room Devotional

God is Faithful – The Resurgence

When Longing to Choose Joy – reflective, personal post from A Holy Experience

 

Bible verses:
Passage – Matt 6:25-32 (lilies of the valley etc)
Verses:
John 14:27-Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Matt 11:28-Come to me
Proverbs 3: 5-6-Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own  understanding
Psalm 46:1-2 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.
Isaiah 40: 31 – But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Lamentations 3:22-23-Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Deaut 33: 25- As your days, so shall your strength be

Exodus 14:14- The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace

Romans 8: 28- And we know that all things work together for good

Jeremiah 29: 11 – For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope
James 4:13-14-Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Phil 4:6-7-Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Quotes:

“The result is that I discovered that God makes no mistakes and he wastes no experiences” – Karen Loritts

“I wait. Dear Lord, Thy ways are past finding out, Thy love too high. O hold me still beneath Thy shadow. It is enough that Thou lift up the light of Thy countenance. I wait because I am commanded so to do. My mind is filled with wonderings. My soul asks ‘Why?’ But then the quiet word, ‘Wait thou only Upon God.’ And so, not even for the light to show a step ahead, but for thee, dear Lord, I wait.” – Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity