Sometimes we think God will simply do it all. It makes a little bit of sense. He has the power to work out the details of our lives. He wants us to be happy. But there’s a flaw in the logic that says once we accept Christ all of life is rainbows and butterflies.
Most of you know that I was in the mission field from June through October of this year. I was leading a group of about 50 folks who are now in the sixth month of their World Race. When I came home we put a couple other leaders in place to steer the ship the rest of the way. I was talking to one of those leaders just now.
The squad seems to have hit a bit of a wall. They are coming into their third month in Africa and their sixth month on the Race. They’re tired and a more than a little bit discouraged. They’re waiting for a shift.
They need a shift in the spiritual atmosphere. And we know that God promises just that. The Lord promised us a lot more than fatigue and discouragement. He promises joy and life everlasting. He says we shall not grow weary. Believing the Word of the Lord, we end up with a choice as to how to proceed. We can either sit and wait for God’s truth to manifest, or we can begin to act as though it already has.
I was telling our leader that’s on the field that someone on the squad needs to create the shift they’re waiting for. Someone needs to say, “OK, in our fatigue and in or discouragement we have felt the weight of a world caught in sin. We know that God’s Kingdom is already victorious. If the battle has been won, that means His joy is greater than our discouragement. So we will walk in joy today, even if it’s work.”
Sometimes we say, “I would really like to be joyful right now, but I really don’t feel it.” Sometimes we have to BE joyful before we can FEEL joyful. If faith is believing what we cannot see, than acting as though you are joyful even when you don’t feel like it is very literally a step of faith.
So in what area of life could you use a little more joy today? Are you feeling joyful?
Where do you need a shift? What is the truth of the Lord for your circumstance today? How are you going to claim that truth?
