Rejoicing in the Lord
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
- John 17:20-23 NKJV (bold mine)
How we behave as Christians affects whether or not others will believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God loves them as He has loved His Son.
You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NKJV
If you are a follower of Christ, He sends in you a letter to the family, the town, the neighborhood, where you live. Your character and life should be such that through you others will get a correct concept of Christ and His mission.
On a similar note, whenever someone who claims to be a Christian continually complains and grumbles spreading gloom and sadness, they give others a false representation of God and the Christian life.
There is a real danger when you begin to doubt God’s willingness and power to save you. Think about it! Satan is the one who is always trying to portray God as lacking compassion and mercy. Now, how do you spend the majority of your time? Do you think about God as loving, powerful, and willing to save, or as stern and harsh just waiting to punish you the moment you mess up?
Satan wants to make your religious life one of doom and gloom, but that is a false representation of who God is. You have to resist the temptation to go through life remembering all your failures and disappointments. Your thoughts shape your life, affect your mood, impact your actions.
Imagine bringing a friend to a beautiful garden. As you walk along the path and admire all the colorful flowers, their sweet aroma, and the beauty and diversity of the plants on the garden, imagine your friend has instead gone off the path and gotten tangled on all the thorns and spends the rest of the time focusing on how terrible the thorns are and how there is a possibility of being stung by a honeybee, or how she got her shoes dirty when she went off the path. The garden remains the same, but the experience will depend largely on what you chose to focus on. You can go through life lamenting your past mistakes or rejoicing in what God has done for you.
It is not wise to gather together all the unpleasant recollections of a past life,—its iniquities and disappointments,—to talk over them and mourn over them until we are overwhelmed with discouragement. A discouraged soul is filled with darkness, shutting out the light of God from his own soul and casting a shadow upon the pathway of others.
- Steps to Christ p117
When you go through life doubting God’s love and distrusting His promises, you dishonor Him and grieve the Holy Spirit. Imagine how a parent would feel if their children constantly complained about them as if they did not mean them well when their whole life efforts have been to advance the interest of their children and provide them with comfort and opportunities?
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
- Romans 8:32 NKJV
We have to claim God’s promises and trust Him. When you doubt God’s goodness and power you harm your soul. Whenever you utter words of doubt you invite Satan’s temptations. When you repeatedly do this you strengthen your tendency to doubt and this places distance between you and God. You may be tempted to doubt, but you must resist it and not speak words of doubt and gloom. Do not open the doors of your mind and heart to Satan or he will fill them with distrust and rebellious questioning. When you give voice to your feelings of doubt you not only enforce them (give them more power), you also affect those around you in a negative way.
It is important that we speak only words that will give spiritual strength and life.
We are all tempted. We all face difficulties. You may feel like doubting God’s promises or His power or His goodness, but you can fight those by singing a song of praise or claiming a Bible promise.
One song that I personally find helpful in challenging times is “What a friend we have in Jesus.”
For Bible verses there are many, you can begin with Romans 8:31-31 but you can also keep reading to the end of the chapter. (You can also check out some of my favorite Bible verses about prayer.)
Make it a rule to never speak a word of doubt or discouragement.
The words you speak have amazing power over you and those around you. You believe the words you hear yourself speak. When you make a conscious choice to only speak words of encouragement, faith, and live, your unconscious influence will encourage and strengthen others. The opposite is also true, when you speak words of doubt and gloom others will be repelled from Christ and the truth.
The life of every believer who imitates Jesus is full of purpose and a deep sense of personal responsibility.
For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
- Romans 14:7 NKJV
Ultimately we must take responsibility for where we allow our thoughts to dwell. If we keep thinking and talking about the unkind ad unjust acts of others, it becomes impossible to love them as Christ loved us. However, when we dwell upon Jesus’ wondrous love and mercy for us, this same spirit will flow out to others. It is by beholding Christ that we are changed.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
- Psalm 37:3 NKJV
When you are relying on God and you have done all that you can, accept the results cheerfully. Leave the results to God. Worrying won’t change anything.
We live in a sinful world. There will be trials. But Jesus is prayed for us, and we should join Him in this prayer.
I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
- John 17:15
Being a Christian is not about not having challenges, it is about not having to face those challenges alone. We have peace and hope in Jesus because He has overcome and is victorious!
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
- John 16:33 NKJV
Jesus taught His disciples a precious lesson regarding the necessity of trusting in God in His sermon on the mount. The lesson remains true to us today and should give us comfort.
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
- Matthew 6:26 NKJV
Jesus continued in his sermon and later pointed his followers to the wildflowers with their natural grace and radiant beauty, and how not even the wealthiest nobles in their fanciest outfits could ever be as beautiful or lovely. (Matthew 6:28-40)
God would have his children be happy, peaceful, and obedient.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
- John 14:11 NKJVPeace 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.
- John 14:27 NKJVYou are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
John 15:14 NKJV
Even if we do not get to enjoy the pleasures of this life to their fullest, we can still be joyful as we look forward to the life beyond!
I realize we are not able to know exactly what the future holds. But we do know what God has done for us in the past.
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
- 1 Samuel 7:12 NKJV
And God will never allow us to be pushed beyond what we are able to handle.
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
We have to live life where we are and be faithful to God trusting that whatever may come our way God will provide us with the strength necessary to handle it.
Let us look forward to that day when we will hear from the lips of Jesus Himself,
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- Matthew 25:34NKJV
